Love of a Ninja, oneshot files
by Sable Scribe
Summary: Shino/Kagome Arranged marriages usually end badly, the Nishikage wants a proper binding contract and unfortunately for Shino he was selected to feel it. Both parties have been hurt by a former spouse can they over come the circumstances together?
1. Rainy Days

I don't own anything

Beta: BloodCherry

Thanks for fixing this up!

Rainy Day

Kagome sighed softly as she stared out the window, it was raining pretty hard core, or at least it was here in Konoha. Kagome could honestly say she didn't know much about the other Elemental Countries. Four years ago, Kagome had come to Konoha and met a foray of different people. Surprisingly all of them were ninja, the ninja she adored the most, though, happened to be a lazy day dreamer.

She'd accidentally met Shikamaru by tripping over him, which showed exactly how aware she'd been of that day. She'd been battered and bruised after being pulled from another world, Kagome thought she had every right to be a little disoriented. Not that the lazy bastard would stop teasing her about it when he wanted to win an argument.

Hell, she could still remember her first meeting with the Hokage at the time, Lady Tsunade was possibly one of the scariest and most amazing women Kagome had EVER had the chance to meet, and that included some of the demon's she'd run afoul of.

After that first "trip" of love, Kagome found herself surrounded by ninja on a daily basis, and being interrogated by Ibiki Morino, which was not something she wanted to do again. It took forever to explain, because Kagome was relatively certain she wasn't even in her own timeline anymore.

After everything was put away and explained, her story was documented as an S-Class secret, only three people knew about it (at the time anyway): Shikamaru, Tsunade, and Ibiki, such a strange collection of people (Kagome was still uncertain how Shikamaru had figured everything out).

Kagome huffed shaking her head, the rain continued to beat against the window while she simply waited. She didn't have work today, it was one of her very few days off and Shikamaru wasn't home which just wasn't fair, damn it.

Groaning in annoyance, she wondered over to the large king size bed before laying out. Within minutes, she was out like a light.

O

Shikamaru grunted as he sped home in the down poor. Was it too much to ask for a nice sunny day? It had been raining non-stop for nearly a week and he was clearly missing his clouds.

Not that it really mattered, after becoming a Jounin three years ago he rarely had the time to say 'hello' or 'good bye' to his friends let alone watch clouds. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been on a date for that matter either. Thankfully, Kagome had understood in that particular area, but then again she worked at the hospital all day with Sakura, so maybe it wasn't that surprising.

Shikamaru grunted when he settled in front of the door fumbling with his key, before jamming it in and twisting. Damn, he was soaked; at least he got to have the half day off. Helping others train for the upcoming Jounin exam was tiring, and helping them in combat was just a downright pain in the ass. He'd honestly rather have a damn genin team, than go through with Jounin training again.

Pulling off his flack vest, Shikamaru hung it on the coat hanger Kagome had demanded they get for their apartment. It hadn't become home until Kagome had moved in.

Shikamaru frowned, had they really been a couple that long? Three years, it seemed like such a short time ago.

O

_Shikamaru sighed, he and Temari had broken up nearly two months ago, they had both decided that their long distance relationship was becoming loose and broken. It was almost as if they didn't know each other anymore._

_Not only that but Ino, and to a certain extent Sakura, had been trying to set him up with different girls for the last two week and he was about ready to tear his hair out._

_"Nee, Pineapple, guess who?" a warm voice asked, laughter warming its tone._

_Shikamaru sighed, "Kagome, you're the only one in Konoha that calls me Pineapple."_

_"But it's a good nickname." Kagome stated, her hands had already moved from his eyes to play with his hair._

_"Will you stop that?" _

_"Nah, besides what has you so tense?" Kagome asked, her hands began to rub the back of his neck and shoulders, "Your really tense."_

_Shikamaru blinked, that actually felt really good. "Ino and Sakura won't take a hint."_

_"So, there's still bugging you about going on a date?"_

_"Yeah," Shikamaru sighed, "It's troublesome."_

_Kagome snickered, "Then just get another girlfriend."_

_Shikamaru huffed, he didn't want to go out with anyone._

_Kagome sighed, he was so clueless. Why did she always get the clueless ones. "Ne, why are you so clueless?"_

_Shikamaru turned until he was facing the dark haired woman, a slightly askance look upon his face._

_Kagome pouted, before kissing him._

_Shikamaru felt shock run through his system before his own long fingers found themselves threaded within her hair, while another hand pulled the warm soft woman closer. Pulling away, Shikamaru looked into the eyes of the small woman now in his lap. "Why?"_

_"Hmmm, you're just that troublesome. Someone needs to keep you on your toes," Kagome replied laughing._

_Shikamaru snorted, it was going to be an interesting journey and it would get Ino and Sakura off his back, at least for a little while._

O

He sighed at the thought about that moment, what a ride it had been. The question was where was Kagome?

Looking through the house, Shikamaru only smirked, she certainly was beautiful, he could never get enough of her body. Shuddering at the pleasure that seemed to run up along his spine, and down to his loins, he found himself headed to the shower, there wasn't a reason to awaken her. She seemed tired.

Stripping he turned the shower on, letting it heat before stepping in. Shikamaru sighed, this was one thing he was eternally grateful for. It was another one of those things Kagome had just brought home or sweet talked him into, the high pressure, duel headed shower that was currently pounding into his rather cold muscles was enough to make any man sigh in relief.

Troublesome woman, she was always in his thoughts, often times leaving him in a state of partial arousal. Just thinking about her, made him stand to attention. It was the most irritating thing.

He groaned, he really just needed to get those thoughts out of his head. Long fingers slid down a flat stomach to fist his swollen girth, before he began to pump.

O

Kagome snuggled down in the warmth, it sounded odd, blinking slightly in confusion, she looked around the room. It was dark, she must have been asleep for a few hours.

A slow grin formed across her cheeks, so he was in the shower, was he? Kagome chuckled, getting off the bed Kagome stood at the door frame of the bathroom and watched.

Sure, Shikamaru wasn't buff and muscle bound like Kiba or Naruto, but he was lean much like a swimmer. Those long thin muscles of his were more powerful than most knew, Kagome shuddered, a groan escaped her lips as she watched Shikamaru stroke himself. She could feel the stickiness beginning to form as the blood of her body began to heat and swim with want.

Shuddering lightly, Kagome pulled off her t-shirt before stepping out of her panties. The best part of their shower was that it was completely walk in. And it was made of clear glass, not only that but Shikamaru never bothered to shut the door when he was in it.

There was a predatory gleam in her eyes as she slipped in behind her lover, today was going to be so much fun. Delicate fingers found their way to rigid nipples, while the other slipped down over a wash board abdomen to stroke the swollen length, it was always too hot and hard. Kagome could feel herself shudder as her breast pressed roughly against his back, her lips seeking and finding an innocent earlobe, her tongue darted out to stroke the lob and love the small stud that threaded through. She could feel his sharp intake of breath; he was so fucking sexy.

Shikamaru could feel the pressure build, as his member seemed to swell further, he simply groaned as his release hit him. A slow chuckle rose from his throat, his hand found her wrists. With a sharp twist, she was bent over before him hands braced firmly against the wall, legs parted enough for him to stroke her opening before pushing his member against her, prodding her slick slit before pushing the head inside.

"Be still," Shikamaru groaned, before pushing forth, tight walls squeezing at his sex.

His fingers circled and rubbed her swollen clit, while another cupped and played with the erect nipples, all the while thrusting into the soft heat the was perfect for him.

Kagome cried, her hands braced against the wall of the shower all the while he continued his momentum. With each stroke and pull at her body she could feel the pressure building, until she was pushed completely over the edge, a cry of pleasure and trembling muscles.

Shikamaru just groaned as her sex tightened, and spasmed around his length, his mouth continued to work at her neck. Pulling his sex free of its comfortable home, he turned his lover around pressing her back against the cold tile, before once again entering her sex, he was far from finished. His mouth crushed against hers before running down her jaw and neck leaving bruising kisses in his wake before once again finding those erect nipples.

Kagome cried out as he once again began to pump into her body, all the while wrapping her limbs around his form. The sensations were the greatest, from the pressured water hitting her body, to the hungry mouth devouring the skin of her neck and breast, or the two fingers that were currently holding her hips for a better angle and penetration.

"Shi..Shika!"

He just chuckled, nipping at the nipple before him, before pulling it fully into his mouth. God, she was sweet, sweat and her own unique flavor drove him wild. A groan ripped from his throat as she once again crested before, he too released his pleasure inside, hot seed coating her channel heading for a her womb.

"God, you drive me crazy, woman." He groaned before once again, kissing her roughly. Fumbling hands found the faucet handle turning the hot shower off. He was slightly unbalanced and could only chuckle at the friction, his member swelling once again, comfortably buried inside her. Walking with her wrapped around him like this was more sensual than it should be. He chuckled once again at her cry of discomfort, as a lone finger found the entrance of her anus, before beginning to push forward into its depth.

"Hmm, stop that," She whined squirming, trying to get away from the invading finger.

"I don't think so, troublesome woman, you started this now you're going to have to deal with it." He replied, before laying her out on the bed. Pulling his length away he could only smirk, her body was glistening with sweat, water and bodily fluids, she always looked best this way.

Smirking he splayed her legs widely before bending down, his tongue making contact with the over sensitive clit, two fingers pushing forth into her slit stretching her and causing as much fiction as possible.

Kagome huffed again, her cheeks red, all the while her hips bucked up trying to get closer to the pleasure. "Ah… Noooo, Shika…"

He smirked once more, kissing his way up her body, a third finger slipping into the squeezing sheath. A hand rose with him to ghost over her stomach, ribs, pinching upon her nipple, his tongue darting out to tease the other before engulfing the straining peak once more.

"So beautiful." Gripping her hip once more, he pulled her knee over his shoulder, all the while bent low so he could continue his assault upon her breast. Aligning with her opening, he thrust forth, the force powerful and comfortable as he set a fast rhythm.

"Nnh, SHIKA!" she cried out, god it was burning her up inside. This feeling, she loved him so much, it was so much more intense when he pounded away working her into a frenzy all the while. Her fingers clenched into the skin upon his back and hair.

Just another push, he chuckled, another thrust for her to tumble along another peak, it was possibly his favorite time to be thrusting into her, forcing himself into those tightening spasming muscles.

His mouth found hers again, as she screamed her release. He followed shortly after, another shower of his seed coating her womb.

"Damn," Shikamaru managed to choke out, gently pulling her knees from his shoulders, one hand cradling her back and the other her bottom, he simply rolled over, groping for the sheet they'd tossed about in the morning.

Kagome huffed, he rarely did the work, she had to wonder what he was so worked up over. Closing her eyes she simply smiled, they were still joined, for whatever reason, he particular enjoyed it when she slept atop him. His heart was still beating an impossibly fast tempo from their activities. Kissing his sweat covered chest, she snuggled down completely content, her black hair fanning across her and him.

Shikamaru sighed, yeah, she'd completely messed up all his plans. That silly dream he'd told everyone, Kagome was far from regular, and was possibly the most beautiful woman in Konoha.

"Nee, did you see what was on the night stand?" Kagome asked, she was rather drowsy at this point. He was so nice and comfy; Kagome buried her face against his neck.

Shikamaru sighed, one hand reached for the night stand only to find a stick. He was sleepy, and why was there a stick on the night stand. Blinking, his eyes widened, a pregnancy test, with double blue lines.

" Is…this right?" He was stunned.

"Hai, Tsunade said I was about eleven weeks," Kagome's response was muffled by his neck.

A slow smirk ran across his face, she was already working on his second dream and in about six months he would be holding that said dream. "Arigato, Kagome." He kissed her brow, at least his mother would stop nagging about grandchildren, next was going to be a wedding. The smirk stayed on his face for a good long time. Until the first night Kagome sent him to get chocolate and peanut butter ice cream at four am, several months later.


	2. Memories

I don't own anything, Inuyasha, and Naruto belong to Masashi Kinomoto, and Rumiko Takahashi.

Beta: RomanticPrincess

For writing purposes, this is a completely different universe so yeah things are going to be different. =D

Pairing: Kagome/Asuma

Asked for by: Sugar0o

I doubt this was what you were expecting R0o but I hope you enjoy it! =D

Next Challenge: Shino/Kagome by: Ox King

I would like to ask all of you who are reading and not reviewing, to please review! Those of you who do review, well you guys make me squeal in joy when I see I get a review so Thankies. Love you all, Scribe!

Memories

Shikamaru could only scowl, they'd graduated nearly three months ago and something was seriously wrong with their sensei. He took a great deal of pleasure in getting to know his students, but for all his laid back appearances and expressions, there seemed to be an invisible wall, between them. At least when his student's asked about him, and for the life of him or his teammates, not one of them could figure out why. When he'd asked his father, a pained, slightly agonized look seemed to come over his face before he'd glanced at his mother. Afterwards his father had simply told him to be grateful for what he had, and live each moment to its fullest.

Needless to say, this had simply peaked his interest which had lead up to this day. Both Ino and Choji had agreed that for the last week their sensei seemed to be in a depressed mood, so they were going to nag him about it until he answered their questions. So on their only day off for the week they'd decided to spy on him.

"Shikamaru are you sure about this?" Ino asked.

"Yeah, Naruto told me about it yesterday." He replied easily.

"I thought Naruto was an orphan, or you know an abandoned baby." Ino replied.

"Ino…they didn't just find him in a random carrot patch." Choji snorted.

Shikamaru nearly choked on his laughter, "Naruto is an orphan….his mom's ashes are there so he goes there with flowers, and incense every day."

Ino flinched, that had to suck….she didn't know if she could do it, "Who's his mom?"

"Kushina Uzumaki….apparently he finally got someone to tell him about her….but anyways, I have to admit I'm curious about what Sensei is doing there." Shikamaru replied, he didn't want to think about the fact that his idiot of a friend was that way because of this village.

Ino pouted, at least she had SOMETHING to gossip about, which meant she was ahead of Forehead once again.

Both boys sighed, before they got quiet and settled in one of the trees overlooking the ninja graveyard.

All three of them nearly fell out of their tree when Asuma did indeed appear at a grave, but what shocked them were the three children with him. One looked to be about nine or ten years old, she was a little girl with thick brown black hair, it was up in a pony tail. A boy much smaller than her, about six had blue-black hair. While the smallest, who was sitting on Asuma's hip looked to be about three she also seemed to have blue-black hair as well. Unfortunately, from their view point they couldn't see anything other than this.

Once the four had left, all three of them made their way through the graveyard, looking around all three felt their stomachs drop. Like all the graves here, there were no bodies just the ashes left of the loved one who had passed away. Some had pictures or flowers, others had old worn out toys or balloons, this particular grave had a name that would come to haunt the three of them for several years.

Kagome Sarutobi

Loving Mother, Wife, Daughter and Sister

Birth May 1st, XXXX

Death May 9th, XXXX

Just beneath this they could see a picture, the woman was positively breathtaking. High cheek bones on a heart shaped face, the same raven's blue black hair that had been on the children seemed to be highlight by bright blue eyes. It was the smile that drew them, one full of life with so much energy and joy.

"This must be his wife," Shikamaru could see the dots now, could connect them in a way that he hadn't been able to before. His father had given him the hint, while Naruto seemed to have spelled out the big picture.

Ino looked like she was going to be in tears, "Do you think those were his kids?"

"Probably." Choji frowned, he didn't want to think about life without his mom, those kids had been so young what could it be like for them.

"We're still going to ask tomorrow?" Shikamaru asked, he had to admit he was slightly uncomfortable with the subject.

"No way…if he wants to tell us then he will!" Ino stated, that was completely unacceptable.

Choji nodded in agreement, he wasn't about to speak of it.

After their agreement the three of them went their separate ways to think about what they'd seen and how it obviously affected their teacher. The fact that his wife had only died, roughly a year ago to the day, was probably weighing heavily on his mind. To think May 9th was only a day or so away.

Not one of them noticed, light brown eyes watched the three of them go a sad smile easily seen on the observer's face.

O

It had been nearly three weeks since the three of them had stalked their sensei, and he seemed to be getting out of his funk. But not one of them had expected for him to invite them out to dinner on the spur of the moment, one afternoon. None of them questioned it, but they were indeed surprised when they saw the three children waiting for them at their regular BBQ venue.

"I know the three of you were watching, several weeks ago, at the cemetery and I'm thankful you didn't pry. But it's about time for you to meet my children, this is Rin my oldest daughter." Asuma rubbed the older girls head lightly, they could see she was an exact copy of her mother but held the coloring of her father, "She turned ten yesterday. This is Souta," his hand moved to his son, the boy was a mix of her mother and father, most of his features were from his mother such as his eyes and hair, though he had his father's dark skin, and the same eye shape. Asuma's hand swayed back toward Rin, when a small head popped over the girls shoulder, "He is six, and this is Shiori she'll be three in about four months." Shiori was a cute little girl, she seemed to be an exact copy of her mother.

And so for the next several hours, Asuma's students and children took the time to get to know one another, and it became increasingly obvious that both his daughters had good taste. Shiori, had crawled into Shikamaru's lap and refused to leave while Rin seemed fascinated by Choji. Ino and his son Souta were having a long drawn out conversation that switched between plants, and gossip. And he knew in his heart Souta had taken after his Mother, Kagome had an undying urge to know everything and anything that was going on in the village.

Asuma found himself relaxing, he'd honestly been nervous about them meeting each other, he'd been resistant to the change and being away from his kids. What if something happened to him too? They were too young to take care of themselves and the only people he had to rely on if something happened to him, was his father, Kakashi or that ice block Sesshoumaru.

"Dad!" Rin shouted, her father seemed to zone out a lot. Not as bad as right after her mother died, but sometimes he just disappeared onto himself.

"Sorry. I was thinking about your mother." Asuma asked, pulling a cigarette from his flak vest.

"Ah…Sensei?" Ino asked, she wasn't sure if she should ask, but she was curious.

"Hmm? What is it Ino?" Asuma asked, his cigarette smoking from his lips.

"I ah, have a question about your wife?" Ino almost flinched that sounded so bad, and the table got quiet.

"Go ahead." Asuma took a deep breath, he didn't know if he could answer.

"How did you meet your wife?" Ino finally asked.

Both Rin and Souta stared at their father, they were curious about the relationship their parents held together. While Shikamaru and Choji were looking at her as if to ask her were she'd gotten the balls to ask such a question.

Asuma chuckled, "We meet when we were around your age Ino…." He stated, before fading into a memory.

_Kagome gave a cry, she was running so late! She'd just gotten reassigned to a new team, her own had died in combat against Iwa. Their names were freshly engraved into the memorial stone, her only living teammate was being sent into ANBU, and something hurt knowing she wouldn't get to see Sesshoumaru anymore. They'd become chunin at the same time, and now they wouldn't even be close to being on the same track anymore. Suddenly she yelped, when she plowed into something hard and warm, just as she was falling warm arms wrapped around her waist keeping her upright. _

_Light brown eyes looked up into her own blue orbs, "Ano…thanks for catching me."A bright blush was on her cheeks, before she stammered out an apology._

_"No problem." Asuma set the girl back on her feet, she seemed mesmerized by his face before finally snapping out of it. The girl yelped before crying about, being late before taking off._

_Genma chuckled, "She thought you were hot stuff, man."_

_Ibiki rolled his eyes, Genma though he was the sexiest thing there ever was, now he's starting to assign it to his friends? "That was Kagome Higurashi, she's a chunin. Her team was ambushed, when they went on a demolition mission. Only she and Sesshoumaru Taisho made it back."_

_Genma frowned, "She'd pretty calm for having a dead team."_

_"You would be to, if your sensei was that Asshat Onigumi and his shitty son Naraku." Ibiki replied dryly._

Ino and Rin who'd been sitting side by side looked at each other before a peal of giggles erupted between the two of them.

Choji smiled, softly while Souta just stared at his father before breaking out "Sooo, when did you kiss her?"

Shikamaru nearly choked, on his drink before staring at the small blue eyed boy, "A date would be an important first step." Shikamaru replied, a slight sarcasm in his voice as he shifted. Shiori was passed out rather happily in his lap, and she was cutting the circulation.

"Soo dad, tell! I want to know about your first date!" Rin grinned, that sneaky one she'd inherited from her mother. And he could feel a pang in his chest, god she was so like her mother.

"Alright, alright," and so Asuma continued.

_It had been about two weeks, since the fiery dark haired kunoichi had nearly knocked him on his ass. And he would be damned, if he'd managed to get her off his mind._

_Not that he would admit it, at fourteen, his dad was always riding his ass, and Genma didn't understand the words "shut up and no" when spelled in large eight foot letters, as Kurenai had replied by hanging the stupid large reply to a date outside the guy's door._

_Sighing, Asuma shouted, not yelped but shouted when a large bundle of female was dropped onto his chest from the treetops. Groaning, Asuma almost cursed the bundle out until he realized that the girl in his lap was actually Kagome._

_"You know…we have to stop meeting like this. It's painful on my part."Asuma stared at her._

_Kagome's cheeks flamed, "I'm really sorry! I really am! It's just…you know a part of the new training." She was gnawing on her bottom lip, she knew who he was but he acted nothing like everyone said he did._

_Asuma rolled his eyes, "Alright, but are you going to sit in my lap all day?" He asked, it wasn't that he minded, but with all that wiggling she was doing was giving him a hard on._

_Kagome yelped before scrambling off him, her cheeks seemed to be an even deeper red than before._

_Asuma hid his amused smile, she was extremely cute when she was flustered, that and she was practically chanting "I'm sorry."_

_"Hey, chill out. I'll forgive you, if you go on a date with me." Asuma doubted she would agree but what the heck._

_"Okay." _

_"Wah?" Asuma sent her a surprised look, he couldn't believe it._

_"I said, okay." Kagome grinned, her cheeks were still red, but that was an extremely cheeky grin._

_"Ah, Alright…um….Meet me at the park at like 6 okay?" Asuma asked._

_Kagome nodded, waving before jogging off._

_"That was smooth Asuma."Genma grinned._

_"Genma, if you bother me on this date. Or even get close, I'm aiming at your balls until I cut them off." Asuma scowled, before waving._

_Leaving Ibiki snickering at Genma's dumbstruck look, which was priceless. Following Genma was always amusing, more so than it should be._

O

_"Asuma what is wrong with you?" His mother asked._

_"I have a date." Asuma twitched._

_His mother smiled, "Ohh, really? With who?"_

_"Ah, Kagome Higurashi." Asuma sighed, there was no reason to get so worked up, she seemed like a down to earth girl. That and there weren't too many top spot date places since the war started._

_She chuckled in amusement, "She's a sweet girl Asuma."_

_"You know her?"_

_"Yes, she works at the hospital when she's on break." Biwako grinned._

_"Ah, I got to go I said I would meet her at 6." Asuma waved, leaving the house in a hurry. _

_When he arrived at the park he saw her sitting on one of the benches. She was wearing a simple cotton tank top and a short skirt. It looked cute on her. "Kagome, ready?"_

_"Sure!" Kagome grinned, when he offered his arm. Taking it, the two of them walked around the park, before heading to the top of the Hokage monument. They talked about everything they could think off, family, friends, likes and dislikes._

_"You know I really enjoyed." Kagome said, she was snuggled down against his shoulder and side._

_"Ah. Me to." His cheeks were violently red, he'd never met such an affectionate person._

_Kagome grinned, happy to see the red on his face. At least she wasn't the only one who blushed a lot! _

_"I'll walk you home." Asuma sighed, it was getting late. He had a mission in the morning and they wouldn't like it if he was late…_

_Kagome pouted, "Awww. Do you have to?"_

_Asuma snorted, "I have a mission in the morning." He could hear the little sigh beside his ear._

_"Okay," Kagome smiled when he looked down at her. It was interesting how they fit together, even now at their age she was a good head shorter than him._

_Asuma stood simply taking her with him, her delighted laughter made something inside him warm in a way he hadn't been expecting. That night, he'd gotten his first kiss, it was everything he had expected. There had been no bells or whistles, there wasn't any need, it was soft and sweet just like her._

"Dad! That's soo sweet, I didn't know you were a romantic sorta guy." Rin giggled helplessly, when her father sent her a very un-amused look.

"You didn't bring her any flowers?" Ino asked, looking rather appalled at such an idea.

"Ino, when Kagome and I started to date we were in the middle of a war that started when I was nine and didn't end until I was seventeen. By that time, most of the shops of Konoha were closed, Restaurants, Flower Shops, everything and everyone was under a supply cut. Flowers….weren't something affordable, Kagome knew and understood that." Asuma answered, looking a lot older than his thirty odd years.

Shikamaru nodded, that had to be harsh they were lucky that they hadn't grown up in war.

"Nee, Daddy…wasn't Mama mad at you when left Konoha?" Souta asked.

Asuma shook his head no, "Kagome, would never had been mad about something like that."

"Why did you leave?" Choji asked, curious.

"I joined the Guardian's of Fire, when I was 15. I had to leave Konoha and go to the capital." Asuma replied. "Your mother was a very supportive person."

_Asuma stared at the letter in his hand, it was asking him to come to the capital to protect the Fire Lord. It was an honor to be asked to do so, and it wasn't something that was easily turned down, nor was it something he was sure he wanted to turn down. His father had already made his opinion known, he disapproved. Shaking his head, he left his house not really paying attention to what was going on he found himself in front of Kagome's apartment_

_Her brother had been killed six months ago when he'd been sent on a mission, he could remember seeing her tear streaked face when she'd shown up at his window early one morning. Her broken weeping was one of the worse things he'd ever seen, she'd slept the rest of the morning away wrapped up in his arms. He and his father had gotten into an argument about that as well._

_Rubbing his face, he walked up the six flights of stairs before knocking on her door. When it swung open to show his very sexy girlfriend in a drooping tank top and a pair of his boxer shorts, he nearly had a heart attack. "When did you steal my boxers?"_

_"A while ago." Kagome replied, before dragging her boyfriend in, and shutting the door "You didn't come over to ask me about boxers, so what's wrong?" Kagome asked. _

_He watched, her walk farther into her two bedroom apartment before turning just at the kitchen counter. Asuma sighed, before following her into her bed room. She was already snuggled back down under her covers. Rolling his eyes he joined her, "So….how mad would you be if I went away for awhile?" _

_Kagome squirmed, until she was face to face with him, "How long is a while?"_

_"Three years." Asuma winced, when she took a deep breath._

_"Okay, ah what's this long term absence for?" Kagome asked._

_Asuma simply handed her the letter, and the recommendation. It seemed like hours would pass before she finally spoke, " I think you should do it."_

_Asuma blinked, in surprise "Really?"_

_"Asuma. This is obviously something you want to do, and really it's an honor for the Fire Lord to ask something like this of you. I care about you, right now you're the most important person in my life. But this is something you need to do, and maybe it'll give your dad time to get used to me." Kagome smirked, before rolling and straddling her boyfriend._

_"You're holding out, on me." That smirk of hers was rather dangerous, it said she understood everything about anything._

_"Oh, yes, I do agree to our engagement." Kagome grinned at the dumbfounded look on his face._

_"What?"_

_She roared with laughter, "You totally just asked, me to marry you didn't ya?"_

_Asuma blinked, what sort of logic was that? Then again, he couldn't remember a time in when Kagome was ever logical._

_"How did it come to that?" _

_"Oh, you know. One of those life changing decisions and you came to me like I'm your wifey," Kagome grinned, grinding roughly against his body._

_Asuma nearly choked, "Alright, so will you marry me?"_

_Kagome's eyes widened, before a soft smile slide across her lips. "Absolutely." Their lips met, while Asuma happily rolled over, smashing Kagome between himself and her mattress._

"I don't think dad, talked to Kagome for nearly a month after I left." Asuma smiled, fondly it wasn't something he would ever forget.

"Really, Grandpa was that mad?" Souta asked.

Asuma nodded, Kagome and his father had clashed, almost as much as he and his father did. He didn't even want to think about all the arguments that they had gotten into when Kagome had gone out of her way to help Naruto.

All three of his students looked really surprised; they couldn't imagine the Hokage arguing with anyone, let alone the pretty delicate woman who'd been Asuma's wife. As they continued to talk, a young waitress walked toward their table and politely told them that it was nearly an hour past closing and would they please vacate the premises. They said their goodbyes, and agree to meet up again at a later date. It would be several month, before Asuma's students managed to weasel more out of their teacher about his wife.

O

Asuma sighed as he stared out over the village, the chunin exams were over, and his father was dead. Konohamaru was now living with him and his children, while Naruto had left, returned, ended up in the hospital because of Sasuke, then left again with Master Jiraiya; and it seemed as if things had gone from quiet to depressing. Without cheerful people like Naruto and Kagome in Konoha it became a stifling place to be and his students seemed to feel the difference.

Shikamaru sighed, he'd never thought he'd see the day when his loud blonde friend would leave the village, and the guy had only been gone for little over two months. He didn't think Konoha, or Hinata could last all three years of his absence.

"Sensei?"

"Yes, Ino?" Asuma asked, he had to admit that this C-Class escort mission was possibly the most boring things he'd been on in awhile.

"Can you tell us more about Kagome? Like what was it like when you returned to the village?" Ino asked.

Choji nodded absentmindedly, he was curious about Rin's mother.

Asuma thought about it, he really had nothing left to lose and Kagome certainly wouldn't mind, "Alright. The day I returned was an interesting to say the least."

"Why is that?" Shikamaru asked.

"I almost turned around and left." Asuma replied.

Choji blinked, "What?"

_Asuma chuckled, before continuing onto his tale._

_Asuma swore, he'd been home for nearly thirty minutes and already he'd gotten in to a mountain of an argument with his father. He loved him to death but sometimes he really wondered, what the hell the old man was thinking._

_If he'd sent more people with his mother Biwako, Minato and Kushina, all three of them might be alive instead of a decomposing corpse in the Hokage's monument, or ashes in his mother and Kushina's place. Not only that but he'd damned Minato's only son to a life of hell! He'd also gotten an earful about Kagome. _

_Though in this case he completely agreed with his girlfriend, she'd refused to allow Naruto live by himself or at the orphanage. So she'd taken it upon herself to watch over the boy herself, and pointedly told his father she would be taking care of him till he at least made it through his first year of the academy._

_Maybe he should just take Naruto and Kagome and just go back to the Capital. The Fire Daimyo wouldn't mind, he knew exactly who Naruto's father was and was to a degree just as annoyed and angry with his father as Asuma. Grunting at the thoughts he shook himself from those thoughts, before he found himself in front of Kagome's apartment. It was almost like he'd regressed three years, and he was telling her once again that he was leaving._

_Climbing the stairs, he knocked on the door. The door swung open to a barely dressed Kagome, and he got an eyeful of all the changes she'd gone through in the last three years. Those breasts were huge, and just needed some love, he thought briefly before a set of lips were attached to his and those magnificent breasts were pressed against him in a way that both his blood and member rising._

_"Missed me?" Asuma asked._

_"More than you know, get in here and love me."_

_"You bet." Asuma grinned, before slamming the door shut, before carrying his very sexy girlfriend to bed._

_It had been several hours since he'd arrived, and his was smoking on Kagome's bed naked as the day he was born watching as an equally naked Kagome breastfeed a very hunger blonde baby. He didn't realize watching a woman would aggravate him enough for his sex to once again be standing at attention._

_"Asuma!" Kagome scolded, as she sat cross legged cuddling the little boy._

_Asuma blinked, "Hmm?"_

_"Cigarette's out around the baby."_

_He promptly snickered, "Hai hai." Before putting it out, and yanking the woman and infant into his lap._

_Kagome yelped, feeling the swollen member prodding between her legs. "Ah, Asuma!"_

_"Hmm?" His chin was resting on her shoulder as he watched Naruto suckle happily at his girlfriend's breasts, it made him wonder what it would be like to watch his own child at her tits._

_"You're such a perv."_

_"I haven't touched a woman since the night I left you here three years ago, what did you expect?" Asuma asked._

_Kagome snorted, before relaxing in his arms happily. "You're going to stay, right?"_

_"Yeah….yeah, I'm going to stay I guess this will be good daddy practice…." Asuma replied, he could feel her relax even farther in his arms._

Asuma grinned at the memory, of course he didn't about to tell his students about the massive amounts of sex involved with his return. Or his slight obsession with Kagome's breast milk when she feed their children and himself, he sighed, he missed her more than anything….

Ino was blushing lightly at the implications, who knew her sensei was such a horn dog?

Choji blinked in surprise, if Kagome hadn't been around would Asuma have stayed?

"Is Naruto the one who leaves the iris blossom's at her grave?" Shikamaru asked.

Asuma nodded, "Yeah, Kagome was a real believer in individual thoughts. So when she got sick that year…she asked them to bring her their favorite flowers. Rin loves Orchids, Souta loves lotus blossoms, and Shiori…liked sweet peas. Kagome was killed on a mission six months later."

The three students stared at each other, "So, when did you and Kagome get married?" Ino finally asked.

Asuma's sorrow lifted, "We married in June."

"Sooo! Spill!" Ino was a girly girl, the thought of a wedding, even someone else's sent joy up and down her spine.

Shikamaru, and Choji shared a look it really was a good thing to have Ino around. She always seemed to have the right thing to say when Asuma seemed a bit down.

"Hai, madam." Asuma replied, slightly sarcastic.

_Naruto had hit the terrible twos, and while it was indeed cute Asuma wasn't about to let the toddler get a hold of Kagome's ring. So they'd made a compromise, Naruto would be the flower boy, instead of the ring bearer. And Asuma would admit the kid did look good in the small white tuxedo he was wearing _

_Asuma was more nervous than he had a right to be, he didn't even get why he knew Kagome was the woman he loved, and he certainly did love her more than he'd thought possible. He was one of the lucky ones._

_Ibiki and Genma grinned, they were his closest friends. Ibiki was his head groom, while Genma, Kakashi, and Hayate made up the rest of his wedding party. Kagome had a bit of a mean strike in her, Gai had been drafted in one of her maids and the fact that she'd forced the overly youthful man into a dress and heels was downright cruel. Yugao came out as her maid of honor, while Anko and a woman he'd never met named Kurenai finished up the wedding party._

_Asuma took a deep breath, holy crap he was getting married and in about four months he was going to be a daddy. Holy crap! He just continued to think this over and over again, his whole family was there his older brother and his wife, and his father. A number of shinobu that he and Kagome considered themselves friends with were sitting in the pews while Ibiki's little brother and his parents, along with Sesshoumaru and his whole family. There had to be at least fifty people, which was rather large for a nin's wedding unless a clan was involved._

_"Man, chill out! You're going to be fine. Just picture Gai in one of Kagome's brides' maid dresses." Genma grinned, he didn't know how many picture's he had taken of Gai in that damn dress._

_"Genma your such a whore, I don't see why Izumo likes you." Kakashi muttered, he, Anko, and Gai were the youngest members of the wedding party._

_Genma flushed violently, it was well known that he liked women and men. Izumo was his most current, and longest partner._

_Ibiki snorted, "Kagome loves you, and she's carrying your baby. What else do you have to be nervous about?_

_Asuma groaned, shaking his head as he stood walking down the aisle he smiled, things were in place the music was beginning. And person by person people were being seated, and then the grooms and brides came grouped together. Though he had to admit watching Gai dressed in the red sleeveless brides maid gown nearly cracked him up, the fact that Genma and his damn Senbon needle was walking Gai down the aisle almost made him break into hysterical giggles._

_He could feel his heart catch in his throat, Kagome was possibly the loveliest thing he'd ever seen she was in a floor length gown and it was made to show off her pregnant figure. It wasn't something many would have the gall to do but Kagome was nothing if not proud of the child that was resting inside her._

_Sesshoumaru was walking her down the aisle, he'd point blank refused to be her maid of honor, it went against his finer sensibilities. When Sesshoumaru gave her hand away, Asuma felt as if he would burst with pride. He loved this woman more than anything in the world and he was more than glad she was going to be his. As the priest continued with the vows, the two of them gave their responses. Before he was finally allowed to pull his beautiful woman close and kiss her with everything he was. Cat whistles could be heard ringing around the temple, he wouldn't be surprised if Konoha heard everything about this day._

_Kagome laughed, as she was walked away to the reception, "So, did you ever thing we'd be having two kids within six months of being married?"_

_"Never." Asuma replied adjusting Naruto on his hip._

_"Would you have it any other way?" She grinned, cheekily._

_"Never."_

_"Gah! That's almost as bad as 'hn'" Kagome pouted, before Asuma yanked her into another kiss._

_"How about happily ever after?" Asuma laughed._

_"My pleasure."_

Asuma could feel a shiver run up his spine, they'd been so in love that day. It really had been perfect, the people who meant the most to them had come and the party seemed to last for hours upon days.

Ino was starry eyed, even though Kagome-chan had gotten pregnant before her wedding it made her giggle with delight at her obvious feminine pride at her shape. "Kagome sounds like it was hard to make her ashamed of anything."

Asuma nodded at the statement, "She was so proud, and headstrong."

"She sounds troublesome." Shikamaru stated, before muttering under his breath that she couldn't be as troublesome as his mother.

Choji just smiled, "So Rin must be a lot like her mom?"

Asuma nodded, Rin was indeed like her mother, "And Kagome could be just as "troublesome" as Yoshino."

"I didn't think that was possible." Shikamaru answered dryly.

Asuma shuddered, god she could indeed be just as bad, such as during Rin's birth.

_"AHHHH!" Kagome gasped for air, as pain racked her body. She felt like her pelvis was going to split in halves._

_"Breath Kagome, Breath." Asuma stated, he was in a bit of a problem he had no idea what to do._

_"OH, SHUT UP! NEXT TIME YOU CAN DO THIS!" Kagome screamed, her cheeks were turning a violent red color, and sweat was pouring off her body._

_Asuma didn't try to correct her, he simply allowed his hand to be crushed while stroking her hair. He knew she was in pain, but there was nothing he could do. He was extremely concerned that she'd been in labor for so long._

_Kagome felt tears prickle her eyes, as her husband pushed her hair away from her face, and wiped away the sweat. This was her twelfth hour of labor, she could feel the baby in the cannel and it hurt so badly. She wanted to curl into a ball and pretend this had never happened._

_"I can see the head, Sarutobi-san. Now push!" The doctor stated._

_Kagome complied, a pained groan could be heard from her lips, Asuma could only watch in awe he hadn't planned on watching his child come into the world but here he was sitting beside his wife as a head, then shoulders were forced into the world._

_Another violent trembling of his wife's body finally dispelled the child into the living world. And the load angry cry of a cold babe, could be heard throughout the room. Kagome had almost immediately collapsed back against the bed, hurting and tired. "Go with her, kay?" Kagome demanded, as they took their child away._

_Asuma nodded, hurrying, it would be nearly an hour later before he could watch his wife holding there sleeping daughter. Naruto was sitting next to her, a happy grin on his face all the while he studied the small infant._

_Man, he really was lucky._

Asuma grinned, that last bit had been horrible he really thought Kagome was going to magically produce a Kunai or Senbon and kill him that day. He chuckling continued, until they were standing in front of the gates of Konoha. "I'll see you later. I need to check on the kids, Shikamaru do the report."

Shikamaru groaned how had he gotten drafted for this?

Choji and Ino shared a look before they both disappeared, there was no way the two of them were going to get caught into helping the lazy ninja. He was going to have to start doing this crap on his own.

Shikamaru scowled, he'd totally gotten abandoned. Shaking his head, he scowled before taking off. It would be nearly be two and some odd years, before Kagome Sarutobi once again entered his and his teammates, life. This time….it would be the last.

O

Shikamaru swore as Hidan swung that giant ass scythe again barely missing one of them this battle seemed to be never ending.

It seemed as if time just as quickly stood still, Shikamaru's heart dropped, he'd known something was odd. And there stood Hidan a sick but pleased look on his face, blood dribbled down from the wound on his chest, turning he knew what he was going to see would ruin some part of him. Break his heart, "ASUMA!" He could only watch as his sensei fell, the battle with the blasted immortal had killed him. That scythe had completely torn through the walls of Asuma's heart, he wouldn't be long for this world.

Just as quickly as he was kneeling beside him Ino and Choji seemed to appear like magic, Ino tried to help. But the damage was far too great and nothing that they did was going to fix it. Asuma would tell him the secret of the village, and he would take it to his students and teach them everything that Asuma had taught him. Ino and Choji would as well, and somewhere in the back of Shikamaru's mind he had to wonder how he was going to explain to Asuma's kids. To Rin, Souta and Shiori that there daddy their last living parent was dead, or Naruto or Konohamaru? How was he going to tell Kurenai, that the happy little family she'd been dreaming off was never going to happen from Rin's resentment, to Souta's indifference?

It was a heavy heart that the three of them returned to Konoha, Ino reported, Shikamaru spoke with Kurenai, while Choji…Choji handled the kids. He and Rin were just as close as Shikamaru and Choji. Choji also seemed to just have a way with kids, like Konohamaru and Souta that none of his teammates shared.

The Funeral seemed to take forever, and one by one. Everyone left leaving only those closest to him, to Asuma. Rin felt more tears fall before burying her face against Choji's shoulders. She was thirteen know, and all that was left was her sibling, it hurt she'd always thought that they would break the Higurashi curse, that her daddy was going to be the one to walk her down the aisle. But yet another war was on the horizon and there was a possibility that she would lose Souta and Konohamaru because of this stupidness. Naruto hadn't even been able to show his face, he'd been just as upset as Rin. He'd lost his father figure, months later he would lose his second father.

"You know….this reminds me of mom's death."

"What do you mean Rin?" Choji asked.

"Her team stood with us at the end of the funeral." Rin replied.

Ino flinched, at the dead tone in the younger girl's voice. Rin really had lost a lot compared to some, a father, a mother, and a grandfather.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, before thinking of the conversation with Asuma that he'd held with the man days before.

_Asuma smiled, "You've gotten better."_

_"Troublesome." Shikamaru replied, the next thing he knew they were going to be pushing him to become a jounin._

_Asuma snorted, as he stared up at the clouds that Shikamaru loved so much._

_"You know…I don't think I have a lot of time left."_

_Shikamaru started, "What? Why would you say something like that?"_

_"It's just a feeling…..It's similar to how I felt when Kagome died."_

_Shikamaru raised an eyebrow as if to tell his sensei to explain._

_"It was just a feeling….that she wouldn't return home in one piece. And she didn't…..she saved her genin team….she dragged all three of them back to Konoha with a hole in her chest. They were nothing but children to her. All three of them are Jounin now….she would be proud."_

_Shikamaru felt a chill run down his spine, what was Asuma getting at?_

_"I feel like I should apologize to Kurenai."_

_"Why?" Shikamaru was perplexed._

_"I don't love her. I couldn't love her."_

_Shikamaru's eyes widened._

_"I care, but I don't love her like I did Kagome. I told her that before we got involved. But I feel like I've cheated her, and Kagome by doing so." Asuma sighed, blowing out a large amount of cigarette smoke._

_Shikamaru didn't know how to respond or what to say._

_"Watch over my kids, Shikamaru….and when Choji decides to marry Rin, walk her down the aisle for me. When Souta finally manages to get to the top of ANBU give him my congratulations. When Shiori finds her dream tell her I gave my approval, whatever it might be. I couldn't be the man I was before Kagome's death, I became what I am now. But I want them to know I'm proud. And let Kurenai's kid know I loved him more than myself."Asuma took a deep shuddering breath, something as sure as his beating heart and pumping blood was going to take his life. He wasn't the same, he was a slightly sarcastic bastard, that tried to be the happy man that had married an equally cheery woman. He was tired too. He'd changed so much after Kagome, everyone knew it, and his friendships had fallen away like the crumbs of cake. He spent most his time with his kids….it was so different….his best memories would be the birth of his children and his wedding. They'd all been friends then….they hadn't been as tired, and old of all things._

_"Asuma don't say stuff like that!" Shikamaru was in a slight panic what was he suppose to do?_

_"And tell my brats to bring their favorite flower, when I die." Asuma waved, before he disappeared in a flash._

_Shikamaru felt something catch in his throat, what had that been about?_

'He knew even back then he knew how our lives were going to end up and he knew….the whole time he knew he was going to die.' Shikamaru would think years later, when he did indeed, walk a twenty year old Rin down the aisle before doubling as Choji's best man.

He'd cheered Souta on when he started running ANBU, and had fallen into tears and laughter when Shiori was selected to teach the next generation of the Shika-Ino-Cho trio. And in his old age, he'd known what Asuma had said about feeling so old, but Asuma had been half his age, and missed his grandchildren and great grandchildren playing across the Konoha's grounds while Konohamaru watched over them as Hokage after Naruto's death. He would close his eyes, and remember the simple question and the memories of a great sensei had started the journey of a lifetime.


	3. Arrangements

I don't own Naruto it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

This is currently unbeta-ed but after three months of fighting with writer's block, college assignments and a sick family member I'm finally able to start posting! Well at least a little bit at a time!

Pairing: Shino/Kagome

Asked for by: Ox King

Ox King, I don't know if I got Shino in character, unfortunately Kishimoto doesn't really give the Aburame clan much attention(sadly) but they all seem to be kind if not logically cool members of society. I hope this meets you're expectations.

Arrangement

As the Shichidaime of Konohagakure sometimes you had to do things that you didn't really want to, this particular request happened to be one of them. Long thin fingers worked at the tension in his brow, at twenty seven he had been in the position of Hokage for nearly eight years and he still wasn't used to some of the political messes that seemed to fall down around his head.

Needless to say this particular treaty was wanted, wanted so much he was willing to say that many of the clan heads and certain merchants of Konoha were willing to put his head on a platter if it meant getting the trade agreement with this particular place. West Country had always been something of a question and curiosity to most in Fire Country simply because West Country had kept its boarders closed for almost three hundred years before they were flung open during the Madara incident. It was needless to say that everyone involved had been more than relieved when reinforcements had arrived at the last moment to pull several people out of certain situations.

Which left him in his own worry, the only person he could true see putting this particular woman with was the Aburame clan and he wasn't certain that Shino would forgive him if he did. He loved all his ninja, his heart was just that large but he also knew that Shino had been given a rough hand when he'd been forced into a wedding that he hadn't wanted. Not only that but the woman had been hateful and spiteful, the kindest thing she'd done for Shino was dying after giving birth to their son. Shino was the only clan head that wasn't married….

"Shikamaru." The blonde Hokage stared at his longtime friend and advisor, he really didn't want to this but sometimes you didn't have a chance…and he was about to possibly damn a dear friend to a miserable marriage.

Shikamaru flinched, "So you're going to do it? To Shino?"

Naruto could only nod, "I don't have much of a choice. Shino is currently the only clan head unattached, and she should get on well enough with his clan."

A questioning look was sent his way, before the Hokage continued, "The woman in question is from a bug clan like Shino. They use butterflies..." Even as he said it, he could only glare at Shikamaru, the man was trying not to laugh and really just wasn't in the mood to be nice. He hated being Hokage sometimes.

After he had contained himself the Nara head left, he hated being the one to deliver the bad news so he was going to get one of the Anbu members to do it they might bitch about being used as a messaging system but they would do as they were told. It didn't take any time at all for Shino to appear in his office with something akin to resignation on his face, no clan head was happy about being called into the Hokage's office

"Hokage-sama." Shino could only nod his head, whatever was headed his way was more than likely something that he wanted to avoid. Ever since his wife had died, his friends had tried setting him up on dates and his clan council had been looking for another wife for the poor head of the Aburame clan. None of them seemed to realize he didn't want to get married, he didn't want to try to make another miserable woman happy.

Naruto stared at his friend, it had taken him years to have a good solid friendship with the stoic Aburame male. After so many years it made him ache at the thought of doing this to the man, Shino wasn't happy he was content and Naruto was going to be forced to damn the man to the possibility of a miserable marriage. "I have bad news."

The Hokage could only watch as Shino oh so subtly stiffened, they both new that at that moment they weren't friends. Shino was Shinobi, and Naruto was now being forced to act as his Hokage. He would like nothing better than to turn the offer down, but he needed the commercial industry that it would bring for Fire Nation. Part of his job was to ensure the safety of the civilians of Fire Country, but he also had to ensure that the Daimyo was happy and that the technology and commerce were ahead or on pair with other countries.

"I'm sorry, Shino. As a friend you have no idea how sorry I am, this was ultimately my fault." Bold blue eyes closed briefly, before fluttering open to study the man before him. Shino hadn't changed so much from when they were children; he was still a very quiet, calm person. Eventually he would forgive him at least that was what he prayed, "This is the treaty that I cannot ignore." Pushing the treaty toward his longtime friend he could only watch the expression on the Aburame's face stiffen. That was one thing that had changed during their time as children, Shino no longer hid behind the high collared jacket. Instead his face was clear for all of them to see, he still had pale flawless skin and he now kept a neatly trimmed soul patch. His thick and tightly curled hair caused it to remain the same no matter what length it was, it was rather long at the moment standing several inches from his head.

"I'm expected to marry this woman?" Shino's green eyes were closed, a rarely pained expression on his face. He had a three year old son at home, how would he explain to his happy little boy that their world was about to change, be over turned by a woman that they knew nothing about. He hadn't looked for another woman for a reason he hadn't wanted one, strong hands slowly rose to cover his face and cheeks to cover the frustration and anger but more importantly the hurt.

"Shino, this wasn't what I wanted. I…cannot express how sorry I am. I don't leave you with much choice. But yes, you are expected to marry her, I know this is making you angry and unhappy. I just ask that you give the woman a chance. She's not terribly excited about being married again, either." Naruto finished looking over his friend. He'd briefly met Kagome Higurashi, her true last name was destroyed by her uncle's vengeful greed. As such she and what was left of her family were being forced to leave, they were considered to be traitors even those who'd known nothing of the assassination attempt.

Shino sighed, he didn't really have much of a choice so wasn't it better in this case to just go with it. Naruto seemed saddened by both of them, and he was generally a good judge in character. In the end, all the Aburame could do was nod his acceptance of the situation. There really wasn't another head clan ninja or civilian that was unmarried and would have the man power to watch over this addition to Konoha.

"She has one request Shino, I know I'm putting a lot on you." Naruto continued, if it had been any other situation and he saw Shino's eyebrow twitching like that he probably would have fallen down laughing.

Shino took a deep breath of air, what Naruto trying to make his nerves explode with anxiety, "And what would that be?"

"She asks she be allowed to bring her daughter, little brother and the remainder of her clans history, jutsus and their…partners?….she would rather they be given to your family than wasting away in West Country." Naruto replied, what did you call butterflies? They weren't familiar's like Dogs of the Inuzuka clan, they weren't livestock, and Kagome certainly wasn't a host like the members of the Aburame clan.

"Naruto….who exactly is this woman? You speak of her with respect but you haven't said her name once. Not only that but how old is her brother, or child for that matter?" The Aburame replied, a cool look on his face. He didn't need some teenage idiot making things hard or uncomfortable in his home, not only that but how could he combat the resentment the woman's daughter might feel at living with the "bug" people as several of the children called them.

The Shichidaime looked up, he could hear the agitated buzzing start to rise up around his friend. That was one thing that always gave the Aburame away when they were on the verge of anger, the buzzing. If the host was agitated then the hive followed shortly after, it seemed that the insects could feel the stress and tried to dilute it in they only way they knew how, by creating the sound that very few citizens or ninja got to see during their lifetime. "The boy is ten, and the daughter is six months. Her husband was killed a four or five months before she gave birth, and I think that you and you're clan would know her well. She and her sibling were once part of the Choumori clan, I have met Kagome several times."

"I see." It wouldn't be nearly as bad as he had assumed it would be, at least the person he was now engaged to, was part of a similar clan. He wouldn't have to worry at her disgust or like of the insect that surrounded the Aburame clan compound, not that anyone beside other ninja clans and their members were willing to see how they lived. "I will allow this…"

Naruto could only nod his agreement, "Thank you, Shino."

"What would have happened if I refused?"

The Hokage flinched, "She and her daughter would more than likely have been forced into a breeding program, her brother would have been as well." In Konoha breeding programs similar to those in Iwa or Kumo were brought up and every time they were squashed ruthlessly by the Hokage of the time. But in other countries they were easily accepted and often times urged, in some areas a man was expected to take several wives to insure that his lineage and blood line would survive after his passing. This was something neither the Senju or Uchiha practiced, as such it was never accepted in Konoha save in certain times under with the Clan Restoration Act would be activated. Now that their technology had advanced so, the CRA was generally ignored and instead surrogates were often used in the stead of marriage.

The stoic expression seemed to ice over before the Aburame nodded, turning he left with a heavy heart. He was still conflicted, he was in no way happy about the things that would be taking place in the near future. According to the file information that he'd read the woman would be arriving after the treaty was properly signed, which could take anywhere from a week to several months.

Naruto could only watch as his friend left, he felt like he'd signed his friends' death warrant. This would make his wife happy, as well as Ino, Sakura and Tenten. The four of them fretted over Shino more than anyone else that they knew, they even bothered Kakashi less since he'd settled down with a nice little civilian woman named Suzume. They had quickly started in on Iruka, Kurenai, and Shino after they felt that they couldn't bother the copy nin any longer. Shaking the thoughts from his head, he returned to his paper work even with Shadow Clones sometimes he and Shikamaru didn't get everything done before the end of the day. A deep sigh escaped his lips he could only hope that this would end well.

Shino huffed as he ran, this mission was probably the worst one he'd gone on in a long time. It was rare that he as a clan head was asked to go on a mission but in this case it was better that he agreed, when someone from a clan turned traitor, became a missing nin then it was generally left in the hand of Anbu hunter nins. In rare cases, clan heads requested to be allowed to take care of the problem. This was one of those rare cases; Kiba had requested a favor as a fellow head of his clan for the help in tracking a youngster that had ran from the village.

Kiba had found it strange, as had Naruto and so, three members of different clans were sent out to find the boy. The tracking team had been made up of Kiba, Neji and himself they eventually found the boy but by then it was too late. There was little more than a corpse but the smell of illness seemed to float through the air, it was so strong even Shino and Neji could catch the strong scent. Kiba's anguished cry had startled both of the men by his side, neither of them had seen Kiba give into this type of sorrow in the time that they had known him..

The soft tears that fell down the Inuzuka's face had been strong with a self-recrimination that neither of the other males could understand; eventually instead of burning the body as per normal of most hunts Kiba sealed the body to return it to the family. When Neji finally gathered his wits enough to ask about the scene, they saw the vulnerability that came with being so closely affiliated to their animal companions.

The boy in question was named Hiroshi Inuzuka he'd recently turned 15 and had just recently gotten his chunin vest. Both Shino and Neji were baffled for a moment, until Kiba continued in rare cases the Inuzuka clan were plagued with something similar to rabies, but instead of hitting their canine partners it somehow leapt over them into a human host. This was the third case in the last six months meaning there was a build up as the compound this had happened only once during the Second Great Shinobi war, the fact that it was hitting now that everything was calm made Kiba's heart ache. The Inuzuka home would have to be completely decontaminated, and Kiba would be forced to wear the boy's life on his sleeve. As the head of the clan, as Alpha of his pack he should have known something was wrong, and it weighted on him heavily.

Eventually the tale would lay heavily on both Shino and Neji as well, while they didn't pity Kiba they could both empathize with their friend. As the days passed a solemn quiet seemed to settle of the small fast moving group, it was like a small form of apology to the dead. Eventually the gates of Konoha would come into view and there return was an odd one, normally there were a number of people running around the streets of Konoha the fact that it was so quiet really was an eerie home coming. As they continued on into the center of Konoha it was obvious that something had indeed happened, people were dispersing from the Hokage's tower. Normally Naruto refused to give speeches or other such niceties that came with politics, he would forever be known as the blunt hokage, at least in his friends minds.

Shino found his eyes narrowing as his insects began to pick up the pheromones of several members of his clan, the only reason they would be here would be to retrieve his fiancé. The newer different pheromones in the air, very much like butterflies and moths but there were several more distinct human additives there, two were female and one was male. As the three men drew closer he found the crowd beginning to part even more, Shino felt his eyes widen the woman before him.

She was kneeling down, and before her, staring with wonder was his son. His son's hair was standing out just like his father's the soft golden eyes that he'd inherited from his mother studied what the woman was holding with an intense fashion that was usually seen in an Aburame. Shino could feel his heart clench with a tight worry as he studied her. The movement was slow and gentle, once she was resting properly on her knees, he could only watch as she moved something . As he drew closer he could hear her speaking, and he found himself relieved at the easy acceptance and yet that also worried him.

"This is my daughter, her name is Sayuri…she'll be you're little sister now." Thick black hair fell forward slightly but it just seemed to accentuate bright blue eyes and the warm kind smile . He could see a sadness and weariness that told exactly how scared she was of the situation she was in, and he could only feel his heart clench with the need to protect someone who seemed so very fragile.

Shino could only sigh, when Kiba calmly told him to stay with his new fiancé something inside him clenched, this was it he knew that soon he would no longer be single. Walking forward, he could only watch as his son studied the little girl. The child was small probably around seven months old, soft violet eyes blinked before she reached out to grab Shou's hand. The tiny girl grinned happily, Shou could only return the smile with a soft brightness that he'd never seen before. Maybe it was because he knew that this little girl would never judge him like so many civilian members of Konoha.

"Ah," Shino forced his face to remain calm as three different faces turned toward him, one was a small face male that was very similar to the woman who'd been speaking to his son. His son on the other hand practical lit up with happiness, within minutes his arms were full of the little boy. Shino studied her, a small smile was running across her features with something akin to relief, she obviously felt uncomfortable being surrounded by so many foreign faces. "Come, we will speak of this at home." He watched as emotions ran across her face at the word home, something akin to a desperate longing as if she hadn't been home in a very long time and the thought made her ache inside.

Watching her struggle lightly, he moved forward taking her arm in hand he helped the woman stand the tiny girl in her arms squealed softly before cuddling more firmly into her mother's breast. The woman in question, looked at him in question as if she wasn't used to having someone give a helping hand. Then again, considering what he had heard about West Country is was highly possible that the chaos that was occurring there made it hard for people to reach out to those around them.

"Thank you." It was quietly spoken but it soft and sweet it wasn't horribly high but held a soft lull, just a hint of the odd accent that hailed from that part of the world. It would take some getting used to, at least on his part everything would take time to get used. He had no doubt she felt uncomfortable with the differences between Fire and West.

Several members of Konoha ninja and civilian could only watch with indifference or in some cases amazement. It seemed that the two could talk in silent communication. Simple looks or cool nods could be seen passed between the two adults, a small boy terrified of everything eventually slipped between the two of them. Small hands slipped up to take a hand of each adult as if this was something that had happened all his life, they could hear or sense the terror coursing through the boys heart or the hope that was hidden behind the fear.

As they walked through the gates of the Aburame clan compound the gates normally left open swung closed, it was an old tradition of their clan. Kagome and her younger brother could only follow in quiet fascination, the buildings were very different being made up of wood or in some cases what looked like cut stone. Things back home were very different; Fire Country truly had to be a land of wealthy at least in Kagome's mind.

At the entered one of the larger buildings Kagome could only look around in amazement, at least until the small tugging on her leg caught her attention. "Kagome-nii are we really going to get to live here?" The blue eyes that their clan was known for glanced up at her, before both of them turned to study the quiet male in front of them. To be completely honest she'd had no real expectations once she'd arrived.

"Yes, you'll be living here." Shino stopped to turn and look back at them, a small smile was one his face. The little boy in his arms could only look between the woman who'd smiled at him and his father, he'd actually liked her she was nice and friendly. Shino studied her, "Follow me, I'll show you to your rooms."

The house wasn't horribly ornate instead it held a warmth and comfort many would never expect from the Aburame clan. The tones tended to lean toward the earthy with greens and browns and reds, blues popped up here and there as well as several plants that could easily live without sunlight. It was a large home but not too large for someone with a growing family, the kitchen was toward the back of the house while the living areas were scattered around the first floor. As they moved up stairs, they were shown were they would stay. Souta was mesmerized by his new room it was something out of every little boys dream, at least for him anyway.

When another door was opened, Kagome felt tears slip down her cheeks it was very much a nursery. She had no idea how badly she had startled Shino, he wasn't very good at dealing with emotions but he most definitely wasn't accustomed to sexy woman hugging him in what he assumed was joy. Slowly he could hear the soft thank you against his chest, but he could also feel the squirming of the two children squished between them. Shou was laughing wildly by the time Kagome removed herself from his father, while her daughter was making not so happy faces at all three of them.

Eventually things calmed and the three children were put to bed, it was getting late the Choumori/Higurashi family had their things put away. The two adults had been waiting to speak with one another the duration of the remaining day, but with children about it had become much harder than either of them had thought.

"What do you expect from me?" Kagome finally asked, they had been both sitting quietly on the couch there was a fear inside of her. She had loved her husband he'd been a good man that had been killed then shamed in war, but she hadn't been in love with the man before his death. There had been moments of happiness, and content but the hardships and sorrow had far out weighted the joy that she'd had during her life time.

Shino stared down as the small woman before him, over the last month he'd grown used to the idea of marriage. "I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm very willing to give this a try." At her nod of agreement, "Do you know of the arrangement?"

"The demand for a child to complete the treaty?" Kagome asked, in reply it was the only condition that had mildly terrified her while reading over the details of the agreement. The thought of raising her children in something like a loveless marriage had terrified her, the fact that this man seemed to calm almost stoical reminded her of Sesshoumaru.

Shino could only nod in agreement, "We will take things as they come. Kagome?" Shino asked again, she seemed to be drifting away but if she had been traveling all day with her young brother and daughter then there was little doubt in his mind that she was exhausted. At her curious expression he had to force himself not to smile, "You will always be safe here."

Kagome's eyes could only widen in surprise it had been a long time since such a promise, Miroku her husband had made such a promise it had all gone wrong in one horrible mission. Leaving her and their unborn child with an insane egomaniac of a man in charge of the Choumori clan, with in four months of coming into control of her clan her Uncle had achieved his goal and utterly destroyed it. Miroku had promised to always keep her away from Naraku, had promised that she would never go back to living with that man. Kagome felt her heart thud violently against her heart watching as he turned away, and while this wasn't as dangerous a place as Nishigakure it still sent her spinning. She wouldn't be able to look at herself if she lost a second husband to the same damned promise, once upon a time she would have demanded that this man take those words back. But after being brow beaten for nearly a year, much of her fire had been distinguished. Allowing her nerve to spur her on, she took the two steps toward him catching the taller man buy the wrist. When he looked back on her with a curious expression , she felt her resolve falter before forcing the words from her own mouth, "Don't make that promise. Please don't ever make that promise, he…he made that promise to."

"I see." Shino looked down into melancholy blue eyes that seemed to hide so much heartache, "Then you will always be welcomed here," The small smile of acceptance seemed to startle her more than she was willing to admit though Shino had to wonder at the tiny blush that ran across her cheeks. "I'll see you in the morning," He turned away again before heading to his own room. Within two weeks she would be sleeping in his bedroom instead of one of the guest bedroom's down the hall, it was quite a startling fact to the once confirmed bachelor. Shino sighed to himself before closing the door, thinking on the fact that he would actually have to clean out his closet and room.

Kagome on the other hand couldn't help but think that the man that had smiled, that had showed her this softer warmer side was possible one of the most breathtaking things that she'd seen. Once they had arrived within the Aburame compound earlier in the day, Shino had removed his high collared jacket showing that he had a very handsome face. This combined with that thick mass of curling hair, and the jade green eyes that made an appearance once they came inside and he removed those goggles, then the smile, Kagome didn't know she could become so attracted to one man by such a simple smile. Shaking the thoughts from her mind she simply turned before returning to her temporary bed this was obviously because of lack of sleep she couldn't remember a time before or after Miroku that she'd actually been attracted to a man.

Over the last two weeks Shino and Kagome had come to fall into a routine, they both had come to an agreement to avoid Ino Akimichi and Sakura Haruno. As much as Shino loved his friends, he knew the two more feminine girls of his group were absolutely driving Kagome up the wall with planning and preparations to the point that Kagome had made it a point to hide in his office to get away from their scheming. While this wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it was a bit worrying to see how very stressed out Kagome was becoming. She didn't look like she was sleeping well, though he had to admit that it was amusing to see a grown woman use a small child to get away from over excitable woman….

"Shino, who's watching over Shou and Sayuri?" Kagome finally asked, looking up at him was a gentle worry on her small face. She'd managed to get away from her torturers long enough to speak with the man she was to marry. The fact that she would be walking down that isle with in three of four hours didn't mean a thing to her, she was just relieved she didn't have to do this all by herself.

Shino looked down at the gentle woman before him, an eyebrow raised she was supposed to be in the dressing room getting the rest of her wedding outfit in order. The fact that she was in a robe, with her hair up in an intricate way with a small amount of make-up meant she'd snuck out. Then again he shouldn't be surprised, Kagome and his son had become instant friends and Shou had taken to calling her Mama within the first week. It relieved him that there would at least going to be some type of familial bliss, "Tenten has both of them, she and Neji agreed to watch them tonight. Souta plans to stay with Mamori tonight."

"Ah, I see." Kagome smiled softly, before she blinked when she was suddenly pulled back by several pairs of hands. Shino could only watch as Sakura and Ino pulled Kagome back to the dressing room, he wondered how long it would take for her to finally get fed up and start yelling at the two women to leave her the hell alone.

"Was that really necessary?" Kagome asked, while she was dragged. Eventually she would have come back but that room they had her trapped in was making her nervous and a little sick to her stomach.

"Yes, Shino isn't supposed to see you in your wedding clothing!" Sakura replied laughing. It was rare that a ninja married, many times they simply lived in sin not caring what the civilian world thought of how they lived. For her this was a time of fun, she knew that Shino at least seemed to enjoy Kagome's company which was better than his former wife.

Kagome said nothing, all the while looking at herself in the mirror as if to ask what was wrong with her. A soft sigh left her lips and she simply closed her eyes to try to drown out that sound that was created by the girls that had come to "help" her get ready for her wedding. If it had been up to herself and she imagined Shino as well, they would have had a small civil ceremony at the Hokage's tower and gotten on with their life. Instead because this was part of the treaty even something as simple as the wedding ceremony had been taken out of their hands, she wanted nothing else than to go back home and play with her children.

As Ino and Sakura prattled on, Kagome had to pause how long had she been calling Shino's house, home? She knew that her little brother had practically fallen in love with this village and she had seen him laugh and dance and play like a little boy. The fact that he was looking forward to joining the next session of the Ninja academy relieved her as well, being a ninja was all that she knew how to do. Though she was willing to support Souta in anything that he wished to do, if he wanted to be a merchant or a diplomat she would have no way of knowing how to help him.

Eventually, she was dressed and being ushered down the aisle to be given away. She found herself watching Shino the entire time as she was walked toward him, he didn't look like a man in love and she doubted that she looked like a woman who had found her everything. As the music droned on, then stopped and the pastor began to speak numbness seemed to run down her spine. Why had she never been given the chance to love someone? Why was she was always the one that such odd things happened to? It made her wonder if not only was she cursed but then wasn't Shino cursed as well? He'd been given a witch of a woman in his first arranged marriage and now he was being given a woman who when rumors finally reached Konoha was nothing more than a scarlet woman who had fallen from grace.

Kagome looked into the green eyes that were focused on nothing but her and her heart ached, she could only hope she could give him everything that would make him happy. She knew that this marriage was made out of convenience and there wasn't any love between the two of them but that didn't mean it couldn't become that. When she agreed and he was instructed to kiss her, she felt her breath catch in her throat when soft but firm lips were gently and slowly placed over hers. She could feel herself being drawn closer and a pleasure seemed to shoot down her spine, before the pressure became more intense. When they separated, she could only blush before a slightly shy smile began to appear on her face.

The small calm smile on his face assured her more than anything else that maybe this would work that this could end happily. Eventually they reached the steps to be taken to the reception, in a building not far from the temple. The building was well decorated in flowers and the butterflies and some of the more elegant beetles of the Aburame clan littered the area. Many of the beetles rested on corners of the walls, while butterflies flapped there wings gently on a number of the center pieces.

Ino had done a wonderful job of creating a very outdoor setting inside, while Chouji and his family had been in charge of the refreshments and meal. In the end it was more than beautiful and Kagome had to wonder at the fact that her second wedding was several times better than her first. Looking over Shino's friends she once again be grateful that Sesshoumaru had sent her to Konoha to be with these people. There was a kindness and understanding in them that was rarely seen in ninja villages.

"Ah, thank you so much." Kagome smiled, when she was pulled from her thoughts by Tenten. She liked the weapons wielding kunoichi very much, and they all knew that her time as a ninja was over. Now that she was married to a Clan Head there were certain things that would be expected of her that she wouldn't be able to complete if she wear to become a ninja of Konoha.

Tenten grinned, she had become very good friends with the foreign woman at a rather quick pace but they had so very much in common so it wasn't all that surprising. They were both rather fierce if not level headed women who tended to be on the quiet side, they both had a soft spot for children as well. Needless to say that because Hinata and Hanabi had married out of the clan, Neji took her place as clan head, she and Neji were expecting their first child in the coming months.

"I don't mind Kagome. It'll help Neji and I get used to having children, besides Sayuri and Shou are both sweet hearts. Where is Souta staying?" Tenten asked, watching the festivities recently it had just become too painful to stand up for long periods of time because of her pregnancy.

Kagome chuckled, "He's taken a liking to several of the clan boys. He'll be staying with one of them tonight, I think he spends so much time with them because they tend not to tease him like several of the other civilian children do. Little boys think that beetles are much more interesting than butterflies." Honestly she felt a little bad for her younger brother, this occurred with many of the men from her clan. What ninja could resist teasing a young boy about using butterflies in a jutsu? Several people she'd meet tended to come of a little sexist, she knew there had been many times this week that he'd admitted that he'd wished he'd been born into the Aburame clan instead of their own.

Tenten shook her head, "Hopefully he'll find more friends outside the clan, some people in Konoha are so idiotic sometimes. The civilian members of Konoha don't help at all! I mean really? It's getting to be ridiculous they've started to make motions about trying to remove some of the powers that should only belong in a military dictator's hands!" Tenten knew she shouldn't be talking about this at least not at a wedding but it made her so angry sometimes the way the members of their society acted.

Kagome could only nod in agreement, before steering the conversation on to another subject that was a little less volatile and more likely to make Tenten calm down. It wasn't healthy to get stressed out when pregnant! "So when exactly are you due, Tenten? The last time you visited you mentioned something getting a more exact due date."

Tenten grinned, "November is the definite guess. Tsunade is thinking sometime in the middle somewhere between the 15th and 18th, so it's really not that far away at all." There was a slightly dreamy look on the older woman's face at the thought of her child, and Kagome knew exactly how that felt. "Now the only problem is the cramps, I keep getting them in my calves!" The brunette replied a grin on her face, especially when Neji returned from speaking with Kiba and his current girlfriend.

"You might be low in Potassium, Magnesium or blood Calcium…." Kagome replied easily, and nearly laughed at the surprise that could be seen on both their faces. "I had low Calcium when I was pregnant with Sayuri. I got cramps in my legs all the time, one of the few ways that helped was putting a bar of soap under my futon. I think it was more mind over matter than the soap!" The three of them continued to chatter, with others coming and going they were eventually joined by Naruto and Hinata as well as Kakashi and his wife Suzume.

Kagome found out a lot about the couples in question, such as the fact that Hinata and Naruto had been happily married for nearly ten years. They had three children, a nine year old daughter named Hitomi that looked very much like her father save for the fact that her bright blue eyes seemed to have the same milky hue as her mother. Their first son age five, Minoru looked like his mother and held the same blue eyes of his sister, while there second son age two, Kazuki looked like his father.

Kakashi on the other hand was much older than his students having just recently turned forty-one, it had been a surprise to him when he'd met his wife several years before. Suzume on the other hand was an interesting woman there was no doubt about it. She seemed much like a shadow with her dark gray hair and violet eyes, she had a very playful personality much like her husband and seemed to take a delightful pleasure in teasing any man that came near her. They had two children, twin boys by the names Masaru and Osamu who at the age of four both looked like miniature copies of their father with their mother's bright violet eyes.

Kagome couldn't help but to admit that she enjoyed meeting these people who were obviously so precious to Shino, she'd meet his Jounin instructor a woman by the name of Kurenai Yuhi. The red eyed woman was an amazing sight to Kagome, single woman weren't allowed to raise children like she was doing in Nishinogakure. The fact that she was raising her son without his father was a testament to how strong mentally, and emotionally the people of this village built themselves up to be.

The conversation and entertainment seemed to continue forever, people were laughing and dancing. Shino would be the first to admit that there was pride in bringing joy to people, even if it wasn't his own personal joy. It pleased him to see Kagome happy and smiling with his friends, it made him happy to know that already she was so different than his former wife. As he moved away from his father and cousin's he found himself slipping up next to his wife before taking a seat.

"Shino, you should dance with Kagome!" Suzume grinned, her violet eyes seemed to twinkle with mischief as if it were what she was made to do.

Kagome on the other hand could only protest all the while her cheeks began to pinken, she hadn't danced with anyone since she was a child. Honestly she barely remembered the steps and she certainly didn't want to make a fool out of herself or Shino.

Eventually, Tenten joined in followed shortly behind Hinata needless to say Kagome's face was beginning to take on the shade of tomato red by the time Shino took mercy on her and dragged her away to the dance floor. It took little for Kagome to once more remember the steps of the waltz and other dances that had come from the west but were very much liked by the eastern world.

Needless to say the slow songs made her feel very much alive and just a tad vulnerable, this also seemed to lead her mind to were tonight would lead. They were so close and this was such a comforting feeling, it had been a long time since she had been held by a man with kind intentions. His arms were supporting her, and she could simply relax in his arms. She'd been fighting for too long, there had been little time as a child to sit and relax and be herself it was a relief.

"Shino?" Kagome asked while resting her head against as they continued in dance.

"Hmm?"

"I'm glad it was you." Kagome paused to look up into the green eyes she had come to like, she could see his surprise. The surprise was quickly followed by a calm and gentle acceptance the gentleness in his eyes made her heart pound, the fact that he was leaning down his lips brushing against hers again just compounded the fact.

Shino couldn't help but be pleased with Kagome's words, he was glad it was her that he was married to. She gave him hope that things could and would be happy, and he could tell the way she looked at Shou and Sayuri that she wouldn't object to more children which was something that he himself had wanted for a very long time. When he had been growing up it had been extremely lonely to be all by himself with no one to play with, and after his mother's death his father refused to remarry again.

Rubbing his lips more firmly across hers, a spark of pride seemed to blossom from the little gasp that left her throat before his lips began to plunder. Her little gasp of surprise had given him an opening and he had every intention of taking it. His tongue caressed hers before he began to explore, the hardy muscle wondered over everything. There wasn't any type of resistance and for that he was thankful and he continued to take and touch, one hand cupping the back of her neck and head the other had pulled her waist and hips firmly against his own.

It was only the whistling of his friends that calmed him enough to allow her space enough to pull away, instead she buried her face against his chest more than slightly. "Kagome, I'm glad it was you as well." He spoke quietly in her ear, and he could feel her gripe on his back and shoulders tighten even further before she looked at him a shy and pleased expression on her face.

After that time seemed to speed along as if nothing had happened, beside the sly glances his male friends were giving him and Kagome's avoidance of Ino and Sakura the night ended on a high note. This of course seemed to only increase when they both returned to his home, if they had been regular shinobi or civilians they might have gotten a reprieve and been allowed to take a small vacation to spend time with one another but that was not the case.

Instead, Shino planned to spend the night peeling Kagome out of those wedding robes. He knew that he was sexually attracted to the younger woman, he'd never felt the gut wrenching burn of want in his life time. Looking at the woman at his side in amusement, he bent lightly before lifting the woman in a standard way to cross the threshold of their home. Her wild laughter, and delighted giggles were like music to his ears.

When those giggles died away to moans as he walked his way up the steps, all the while refusing to pull away from the pink lips that seemed to have been taunting him since he'd first seen her those short weeks ago. Layer by layer he removed the clothing keeping him from his prize, the fact that she was just as eagerly pushing away his own clothing just seemed to intensify his need to be inside her body.

Allowing his mouth to wonder away from her lips, he found himself making a path down the side of her throat to explore the soft warm skin. She always seemed to smell of naturally growing flowers and fruit, just being able to taste the sweet smelling skin make his heart pump with blood rousing him into a needy frenzy. His hands were at her hips pulling her closer, all the while trying to at least make it up the stairs before he took her like an animal.

Shino could only hiss in pleasure when those long delightfully toned legs wrapped around his waist pressing him harder against her body. Nibbling and nipping at her neck, before forcing yet another layer of the wedding kosode from her shoulders and he could only groan his appreciation when more creamy white skin was revealed leaving Kagome in only a bra and those odd panties she insisted on wearing. The bra and panties in question were a bright violent red which demanded his attention more than anything.

"Shino."

Bright green eyes simply studied the woman he'd just laid out on the bed before him, her chest was heaving with exertions and excitement . Pulling from Kagome's embrace, a long fingered hand pressed roughly against an already excited clit through her silken panties and he took delight in the soaked fabric. When she once again moaned his name in such a sinful way he had to force himself to keep control he certainly didn't want to hurt her. Feeling her press against his hand, a smile seemed to cover his lips before he attacked her neck. His tongue made a trail from the underside of her neck to the tops of her still covered breasts. He could feel her nails digging into his back while he unclasped the bra letting the plump mounds free for his inspection. Pulling the fabric away from her chest he could only bite and lick at the new skin visible to him.

His hands found themselves full of her heavy breasts and he couldn't stop himself from playing with the small buds until they were hard and aching. Shino could only grin against the skin of her stomach, at the shudder that seemed to run down her body. He continued his exploration while his hands continued to cup and massage at her breasts occasionally pinching the tips between eager fingers. Eventually, one hand slide down her body running from her cupped her breast to roll over her stomach and further snatching at the panties he worked them down her legs before tossing them away from the bed before once again focusing on her body.

Shino buried his mouth between her thighs, his tongue raked roughly against the raven haired beauties sex and clit all the while her cries seemed to ring around their bedroom like a constant reminder that this should happen again and again. Over and over again he pushed his tongue into the tight slit of her lips before nipping and biting at her clit, Kagome's hands were clenched tightly in their bedding and he could tell from the violently controlled thrusts of her hips that she was about to lose control. Moving upward, Shino chuckled when her hands dove into his hair trying to hurry him. Allowing himself to be pulled up to her, he nearly growled when she kissed him roughly before their tongue began to once more via for dominance.

Pressing himself roughly against Kagome's body, he felt like his skin was being seared at his sex was pressed roughly against hers. The complete feeling of her body against his was something he doubted that it would ever be like this again, he could feel ever curve, every muscle jumping in excitement. He thrust lightly against her, and her small cry of pleasure made him smile. Shifting lightly, they both cried out when he slipped inside her for the first time.

He went completely still allowing her slick body to become more accustomed to his swollen cock, when her hips twitched up and she continued to shift he knew that she was ready. The slow movements continued to steal her breath in gasps as if she could run out of oxygen just from such small contact. When he began to shift his body to have a better grip, she moved with him as if she abhorred the thought of losing his touch. His hands seemed to move with knowing grace as they slid over her ass, hips, her stomach and breasts. The slow thrusts just seemed to compound the fiery feeling that was building in Kagome's stomach, when he shifted again lower over her body she could feel the skin above his dick rubbing her clit which just seemed to push her to an even high plateau. Her nails seemed to bite harder against his back while his hands made bruises against her hips as he began to become more urgent in his need to release.

The slap of skin seemed to echo through the room as Shino continued, thrusting harder the fact that she was urging him on begging to be fucked harder and faster just seemed to make his aching cock swell further. Her cries and screams just seemed to justify his violent thrusts, the soft slapping couldn't be heard over her screaming release and it just made him want to listen to her begging more. As her sex spasmed and clamped down hard around his cock he could only hiss at the fist like tightness, it was almost as if he could feel the thundering of her heart pounding around his cock and he could only think that he wanted to feel it again and again. Continuing to thrust through the orgasm his own followed shortly afterwards leaving him weak and shaking he had to catch himself from falling down on top of his lover.

Looking down at Kagome, Shino could only feel a horrible pride her body was limp with exhaustion and it was trying desperately to catch up with her need for oxygen. Pulling away, and sitting up he could only grip her hips on both sides, before pulling her body on top of his as he rolled over. They had never separated after her first orgasm and move made his cock twitch at the friction.

"Shino, I can't….I want to…." Kagome's soft cries made him paused, before Shino rubbed her back and shoulders.

"Shhh, just enjoy. Feel it." Shino replied easily, his fingers were already beginning to manipulate her clit and he could feel her sex tightening around his cock once again. The fact the she was clinging to him while trying not to thrust down against him just made the sight all the more appealing. When she turned and ran her finger tips across his cheek before cupping his face gently he could only look up at her fragile form.

Taking her hand from his cheek he could do little more than kiss her hand gently before lifting up his head to kiss her lips gently. Shino wanted to grin when she pulled her hand away to kiss back just twice as forcefully, when she began to explore his body in the same way he'd explored hers he allowed it. He couldn't help but hiss when her fingers began to play with his nipples in return. Her mouth was moving across his lips, and her tongue was rubbing against his in a very sensual way. Eventually, she began to bite lightly at his neck and shoulders paying special attention to lick at the indention of his collar bones before nipping her way up to kiss his face and blow lightly at his ears. In response his hips jerked violently, thrusting into her body…the low groan that was released from his lips just made her chuckle.

Once Kagome felt able to she sat up looking down at the man still buried inside her, his muscles seemed to jump under her inspection and she couldn't help but begin to run her fingers over his pectorals and abdomen. She could feel his hands resting on her hips, and the small thrusts up just seemed to rub the right spot inside her. This stretched full feeling that seemed to encompass her body wasn't something she wanted to give up. Rocking her hips lightly she could only moan at the feelings that seemed to explode inside her body, the rocking gave a new sensation that she hadn't felt before. In fact just sitting up in a completely different position seemed to push his cock that much deeper into her channel.

Slowly her rocking, turned into slow and torturous strokes up and down his cock the look of pained pleasure gave her something she'd never experienced before. She felt so powerful watching the beautiful, strong man, moan for her, ask her to stroke him harder. While normally she would force this to last longer, she wanted him to orgasm she wanted to feel his orgasm inside her own body.

When he began to thrust roughly up into her while she stroked down on his dick, she could only squeeze the muscles around his cock and his cry of her name made her wild. The bouncing became rougher meaner, while his fingers seemed to dig into her wide hips to yank her down on his cock as hard as he could. When he began to thrust up as hard as she was thrusting down it seemed to send both of them into a small jerk of pleasure. When her body tightened again throwing her into a second orgasm followed by his own she could only scream while Shino curled up around her, his knees seemed to draw up behind her back while his arms and hands wrapped around her, holding her down roughly around his cock as he orgasmed, the heat seemed to throw her into a third orgasm leaving the both trembling and tired. Huffing and pants filled the air as they leaned back against the bed together.

Shino couldn't help but to stroke her back gently, as they pulled apart. The sucking sound that occurred when Shino's cock left her body had both them wincing in discomfort before Shino's arms pulled her close. Kagome could only huff lightly before snuggling up to the man and burying her face against his neck, as she dozed off she could only smile she certainly hoped that this particular aspect of their relationship happened on a regular basis.

That morning both of them could feel the after effects of sex but neither of them minded, in fact Kagome happily allowed Shino to drag her into the bathroom. The screaming of pleasure that was heard comeing from Shino's house hold had startled many of the members of the Aburame clan, though the fact that Shibi was smiling put them at ease. They had no idea the older Aburame was already counting the months until he acquired a third grandchild.

It had been nearly three months since Kagome and Shino's wedding and things couldn't have been better for the two. Their sex life was perhaps a little to healthy and they had come to a happy understand, and it seemed the more they learned about one another, the more happy they became with the marriage. Many of Shino's friends could see a very large difference in their quiet friend, he laughed more, he smiled more and he seemed to actually be happy when he went home. The fact that Kagome fit in with the group of them had relieved them all, she also seemed to be very much attracted to small children and they to her. More often than not when they all got together, Kagome ended up covered in children and it was hard to get the children away from her without some bribing.

It was easy for anyone to see that the raven haired woman longed for children more than anything and that was something that had brought them to this particular morning. She and Shino had been talking about things on a regular basis, when she'd asked Shino if there was a specific child care area for Shinobi clan or otherwise, she'd been surprised to learn that the only care many shinobi had happened to be family. The conversation had continued until she'd asked him about opening such a place for people like them, Shibi and the clan couldn't always to babysit and neither could his friends. And even though he was a clan head, there were many times that he and others like him were sent on diplomatic missions to the capital for the Fire Daimyo, or other such lords around _Hi no Kuni_.

When she asked about opening such a child care service, Shino had honestly been surprised. There conversations had been long and slightly difficult for him to bare, he didn't want his wife to be forced to work. But she had reminded him that she was generally bored and just a little lonely when it was only herself and the children, and that she liked being able to help others. Needless to say, Shino had agreed to throw her idea to the clan council. He'd given the proposition nearly two weeks ago, the fact that she'd passed their Jonin exam just seemed to solidify that she would be a good head for such a facility.

"Shino…what's bothering you?" Kagome asked, laying against her husband's side. It was early in the morning and she could tell that he'd been awake for a little while, normally she woke her husband by molesting him until he was wide awake and cursing her name. Or she was cursing his because he'd gotten too rough during his wake up call.

"I suppose I'm being a little jealous, I don't think I want to share." Shino replied, it wasn't far from the truth. He knew that several younger chunin, and retired jounin had become very interested in the program, as well as several clan members. For first generation shinobi this program was going to be a god send, but he couldn't help but worry over the fact that his wife would be the one in charge.

Kagome grinned, before moving and kissing her husband thoroughly "Don't ever be jealous." She continued to lay against him, enjoying the contact even more when his skilled hands began to rub her back in a soothing way. When he rolled on his side, and cradled her close she couldn't help but feel very loved and wanted. "Besides I only belong to three people, Shino, Shou and Sayuri Aburame." She nuzzled his chest and neck very much content to just laze the day about. She had every intention of taking days off with her husband, she wanted to spend as much time as she could with he and their family.

Shino blinked, "I thought you wished Sayuri to keep Miroku's former name." Over the months he'd learned much about Kagome's past and the Sayuri's father. They had been children growing up in war, and had been thrown together out of a desperate need to ensure that neither line died. The fact that she was letting Miroku's surname of Higurashi leave completely was unusual.

Kagome closed her eyes, it had been a very painful decision to make but she knew in th e long run it would be better for their daughter to love both her fathers. Her daughter was now ten months old, soon to be a year, and Miroku had missed all of it. He'd never even gotten the chance to see Sayuri being born, or to hold her in his arms or her first steps. There were so many things he'd been forced to miss because of a mission that he should have never of taken in the first place. Shino had been the one to watch Sayuri stand up for the first time, and he'd called her to see. She'd never been so proud to see her daughter's wobbly standing as she clung to the couch for dear life. Miroku wouldn't be the one to comfort their child when she was away, and he certainly wasn't the one that Sayuri wanted to be picked up by on a regular basis. Then she'd started making noises such as "da", "ma" and "so", roughly the same time she began to stand, followed by calling Shino "Dada" at the beginning of the month she knew that there was no turning back. Sayuri might have been given life by Miroku, but Shino would always be the father, that her first born daughter would turn to. "Originally, I did. But there is no point at all to live in the past, Miroku might have helped me create Sayuri. But you're her father in every way possible, and if she decides to accept a colony then I'm alright with it."

Shino felt his heart flare with appreciation and affection for the woman wrapped in his arms, she did and said things that made him feel like the greatest man alive. She didn't care about the bugs living underneath his skin, and didn't mind the odd messaging system that his family used. Kissing his wife lightly, he could only hold her closely before resting his head against her forehead. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

Kagome just smiled, at the lightly stated comment before snuggling down against her husband she would like nothing more than to laze the day away in bed with him. Generally their lives were so hectic they only had the mornings and late nights to themselves. When shouting was heard outside of their bedroom door, both looked down before they found themselves looking at a little boy with bright green eyes.

"Shou sweetie, what's wrong?" Kagome rolled to the edge of the bed, to look at the little boys face.

Shou looked at the two of them before climbing onto the bed with his mother and father, "Mama, are you really going to be away all the time?"

"What do you mean Shou?" Shino asked, a slightly concerned expression on his face where had his son gotten this idea from? They hadn't talked to Shou about the fact that Kagome was trying to open up a day care center, not only that but the center wouldn't be open for months. They had both agreed that getting approval first and the licensing and permits should be acquired before they began.

Shou frowned up at them with a frustrated expression on his face before looking to the floor. Within minutes of his looking at the floor, he was pulled into his parents bed by his mother to be placed between them. When his mother wrapped her arms around himself and his father, he was extremely relieved when his father returned the gesture with arm before a large strong hand gently rubbed his head.

"They said that mama, was going to leave us…" Shou finally managed to mumble out, he'd heard it when he'd gone out with Kakashi-san and his sons. It had hurt to think that she would just leave, he'd had a lot of people leave because they knew about the bugs inside him.

"Sweetie, I'm not going to leave you or your father I care for the two of you far too much." Kagome frowned at the little boy, before kissing his forehead gently and lovingly stroking his dark curling hair. Instead she simply wrapped up around him and refused to let go, there were her boys and she be damned if she was returned to Nishi for any reason, she would rather commit suicide.

Shou nuzzled into his mother figure, she always felt so warm and safe to him she never left him alone and seemed to prefer his company to others which always made him happy. "Some of the civilian women were talking about it, they said that you would run away…or cheat…I don't understand what does cheat mean?"

Shino watched the surprise then hurt cross his wife's face and a rage seemed to overcome him. Sometimes he despised the civilians that lived in the village, they always had something hateful to say and they never seemed to realize that it affected more than just the adults. Instead of letting his wife reply he simply kissed her lips lightly and gently, there wasn't much he could do to assure her. Words meant very little, and the best that they could do was ignore some of the worst of it.

Eventually the three of them got dressed and they had no idea how bad the day would be, about the only thing that had gone well was that the council had agreed to back the idea. Some of the members thought that Kagome should be removed from the program altogether because of the fact that so many rumors seemed to be floating around the room. By the end of the meeting, everyone in the room had known that Shino was furious with the way that they were treating the woman who happened to be his wife. Naruto finally told many members to but out, and since this was Kagome's brainchild then she would be the one to complete it. On another note it was shameful of ninja's who had any sort of a spy network to listen to anything coming out of a civilian's mouth!

By the time Shino returned home, he was met with a very upset family though it was a relief that no one in his family had anything to say. The fact the insects of his clan could smell him heavily on his wife at any given time seemed to cement the fact that neither of the newlyweds where interested in anything other than each other. Kiba had pulled him aside and asked him to let Kagome know that his clan would be on her side until further notice. His clan had been very disturbed by the rumors, but more so by the fact that so many civilian women seemed to be enjoying the chance to smear her name around in the mud.

The months seemed to pass slowly while the civilian population seemed to watching the current wife of the clan head, with close eyes. Needless to say that Kagome and her children became very used to ignoring the world around them, shortly after being given the go ahead Kagome had sent out a sheet around the ranks to ask who would be willing to give up time to help watch children. Many of the civilians and a certain amount of the older crowd thought she wouldn't get much of a response but they tended to forget that the current generation and the one before them were very close together and it would be nice to be able to spend time with each other and their spouses without having to worry about their children. Many people from Jonin to genin gave her an overwhelming response of agreement, when she eventually found the right place it was noted as being very big. But considering the academy of Konoha only took children at the age of six, any time before that was left on the parents, their families/clans or friends.

Time seemed to go by quickly yet remain the same, Kakashi found that he was going to be a father again while Shikamaru awaited the birth of his third son and forth child. Tenten and Neji had celebrated the birth of their son, Hizaishi and that things had gone so well. All these things seemed to occur during the four months of renovation the Daycare Center endured, the next thing on the list was child proofing the place and letting several people work on several of the jutsu's that had been created specifically for child care.

Because of this it just seemed to push her closer to her husband and that just made her happy, the fact that her daughter was now beyond the age of one and seemed to be intent on causing havoc. In fact she was almost positive her daughter was going to be boy crazy considering how she followed her brother and his friends about. That or she was going to be a little tom boy, she wasn't interested in dolls. Oh no she wanted to play with trucks and other odds and ends that were classified as "male" the fact that she had an overly large kunai plushy that she dragged around with her everywhere just seemed to show off that fact.

Hmming to herself, Kagome could only smile secretly most of her friends had noticed that she seemed more than happy recently. The fact that Shino wasn't home had them all wondering and she refused to tell any of them without telling him first. Soon he would be home and she could share how happy she was. Kagome had to admit she was a little nervous about telling her husband about her bit of news, Miroku had taken it about as well as a hit to the head.

Nearly yelping in surprise, Kagome could only lean back into strong arms when a long elegant hand cupped one of her breast and bit lightly at the back of her neck. Only Shino would greet her in such a way, she noticed that when he was away on missions he would often times come back irritated and sexually aroused and frustrated. The fact that he was generally forced to go on these missions at least once a month, tended to reinforce that he didn't enjoy being away from his wife.

When the overtures began to become more amorous and his hands began to slip beneath her clothing she knew it would be a while before she could tell him what she felt. It would be several hours before they would answer the door, or Shou and Sayuri got to see their papa. Suzume had thankfully become a very good friend as had Shikamaru's pretty little wife who went by the name of Ume. Generally when Shino arrived home they agreed to watch the children until Kagome was able to function. That and it was very selfish of her but she wanted to spend the first few moments of her time with her husband alone, over the months and weeks she'd spent by his side Kagome found herself falling in love with the quiet gentle man bit by bit. The wild sex that was involved in their relationship in her mind was just a side benefit.

A soft sigh of satisfaction could be heard floating around the room, Kagome was more than a little content. She loved moments like this, the aftermath of making love always left her body feeling liquid and warm with comfort. The fact that Shino always ended up rubbing her back or stroking her hair just seemed to emphasis this. "How were things while I was away?"

Looking up from her position of partially laying on his, she could only smile when he began to run his fingertips over her cheeks before kissing her lightly. "Things are going very well, the daycare center is almost finished. All that is left are the jutsu used to protect the place and setting up the volunteer rotation. Guess what?"

Shino eyed her lazily, as if debating if he wanted to guess or not before simply cupping and squeezing her ass before plastering the two of them together, so that they laid on their sides facing one another. "What am I supposed to be guessing?"

Kagome pouted, "You're supposed to guess." Her replies were always easy and tended to reflect a more frisky personality that had been coming out in the months that they had been married. Shino adored her, the fact that she seemed to be coming out of her shell that longer they were together just made him want to urge this change onward.

"Does it have something to do with the children?" Shino asked, when she nodded her head yes. He had to ponder over that, it really was a loaded question. "Did they do something to get in trouble?" When she shook her head no with a mischievous smile on her face, he made him wonder what he was walking into.

When she pushed him on his back so that she could sit on his abdomen, he could only raise his eyebrows when she laughed at him and told him to keep guessing. Looking over his wife's form he began to trace her skin with his hands, he loved looking at her. Kagome to him was gorgeous naked or otherwise (though he did enjoy seeing all of her), and if she wanted to sit on him it was fine by him. It took him a little bit but he could make out a very big difference in her form, her stomach wasn't so much swollen as it seemed like the skin was stretched much tighter than it had before, and if he wasn't wrong there seemed to be a distinct rounding that could only mean one thing. "How far along?"

"Between three and four month." Kagome grinned down at him, a very pleased expression on her face. Internally she was more than a little nervous about the fact that they hadn't discussed children, she'd known that she wanted more and they both knew that the treaty would be held in contempt until such a time that a child was produced. As the quiet just continued on, Kagome felt her bravado began to wane, "Shino, are you not happy?" The question was asked in such a fearful way that it seemed to have visibly startled the man in question.

Shino on the other hand was in his own little high, he was going to have another child. He would have a child with a woman he cared greatly for, so when she asked if he wasn't happy he quickly realized that his quiet calm unnerved her more than he would ever know. Sitting up, he kissed his wife lovingly, "I am more than happy Kagome. You have given me a wonderful gift." He could only hold her smaller frame lovingly in his arms, she really had given him a great thing in their marriage. He had the safety of mind knowing that Kagome would always be with his son, she ensured that when he was home he was cared for and pampered. He could trust her with his secrets and dreams and hopes, for many ninja that was something they couldn't think to ask of.

"Mama!"

"What is it Shou?" Kagome asked, bending down to the small boy, she was close to seven months along at the moment and it was a little harder to bend down as it once had been. Because of her advanced pregnancy it was agreed that she be allowed to take a leave from the daycare. But the place that she created apparently had become a godsend, many ninja popular or otherwise had taken to using the center. Not only that but several high and mid ranking jonin and chunin agreed to take turns watching over the children, because of this the fees to run the place were significantly lowered.

"I want daddy to be home." Shou pouted up at his mother, he loved her dearly but sometimes he just wanted his daddy. He knew that his Mama wanted his daddy home to, she'd just stared out the window with this sad expression on her face. His mama seemed really tired and sleepy all the time, and Sayuri was crying a lot and had to stay home because she kept getting sick.

"Me to sweetie, me to." Kagome smiled sadly at her son and she did indeed count the little boy as her child. He was so much like his father, he didn't like wearing high collared clothing and he seemed to truly dislike having to wear sunglasses, but like all Aburame before him his eyes were extremely sensitive to light. "But he'll be home this afternoon, it was only a trip to the capital."

Shino had been going on several missions recently because of the influx that seemed to have taken over during the holiday time. In fact several of the heads and mean around the area seemed to have disappeared off into Konoha to run missions and errands for the Lords of _Hi no Kuni_, The Fire Lord, and their own Hokage. Even Naruto himself had been forced to take on several missions that were beyond rank, Hinata and fretted and raged for days so much so that the town of Konoha seemed several degrees warmer than the rest of the world.

Kagome groaned, trying to get up she wasn't sure that she would be able to stand. What she didn't expect were for a pair of hands to catch her under the arms and pull her up so that she was once again on her feet.

"Mah, Kagome you shouldn't be bending down like that!" A slightly cheerful voice, told her before she could even turn around the kind hands were helping her to a park bench.

"Kakashi! How are you, and what about Suzume?" Kagome replied, watching in amusement as both Masaru and Osamu immediately began to distract Shou with something or another they had found. When she finally managed to sit down she could only take a deep breath of relief, she'd though she could get up by herself but even that seemed impossible now.

"Ah, ah. Both of us are fine, though Suzu looks like she's about to pop." Kakashi grinned, pleased. He liked the fact that his wife was pregnant he thought that she looked beautiful, then again he thought his wife would look beautiful slitting someone's throat so he might be a little biased.

Kagome paused before thinking it over just a bit, "Suzume's having a second set of twins isn't she?" Kagome asked looking at the pleased expression on the man's face. He looked so blissful at the thought of his wife and family, sometimes she had to wonder if Shino ever felt that way about coming home.

"Hai, a boy and a girl." Kakashi replied, watching over the children carefully. Normally he wouldn't have taken the boys to the park when it was this cold but when he'd seen Shino's wife bending down to speak with Shou he'd become concerned. When she tried to stand but couldn't manage, Kakashi had frowned before coming to the rescue. Her soft groans and the popping of her joints just seemed to show how tired and worn she was, but considering everything that had happened in her life recently that wasn't so surprising. Then again from what he'd seen recently they seemed just as determined to run Shino ragged as well. He would have to bring it up with Naruto, considering how close Kagome was to pregnancy Shino should have been off for at least the next four month to help his wife through birth.

"That poor little girl…" Kagome replied, laughing softly at the offended look on Kakashi's face. "She's going to be so over protected she'll never get married." Kakashi's face seemed to shift yet again behind his mask to something akin to amusement. That was just another thing that seemed to fascinate Kagome, what exactly was beneath that mask? She'd never asked Suzume because she'd always felt it to be inappropriate but that didn't stop her from being curious about the fact that his face was always covered. According to Shino, there was a large scar running across they eye that he kept hidden behind his hitae-ite but other than that he didn't know what was beneath the cotton mask either.

A loud cry of surprise startled Kagome, by the time she managed to get to her feet Kakashi was already across the park next to the boys. By the time she'd managed to get there it was obvious that they would have to go in, all three boys were covered in snow and were already beginning to shiver in the cold of it all. "Oh no….Shou what happened sweetie?" She almost bent down again until Kakashi simply wrapped the boy in his jacket and handed her the small boy.

"We didn't mean to but we hit the branch with my ball and all the snow came down." Shou whimpered, before snuggling closer to his mother. It really was cold, now that he was sitting on his mother's belly and wrapped up in her arms.

Kagome frowned, "Ah, then we need to get you home and out of those clothing." Kagome pressed her cheek against his forehead and he huffed in her arms, before moving so she could do as she pleased. "Osamu, Masaru, are you both alright?" When both boys replied happily from their father's arms that they were indeed fine to, a relief seemed to go through her chest.

"Hmm, Kagome do you mind if I walk you home?" Kakashi asked, trying to hide the concern in his voice. He didn't know how well the woman would be able function without her husband, and being so far along in her pregnancy.

Kagome nodded, "They'll all need to get out of their clothing." With that the five of them made their way to the main Aburame household, Shou was put on the ground and told to strip. The fact that his clothing started to fly while he ran up the stairs seemed to hit Kakashi's funny bone because he promptly cracked up laughing. When Masaru and Osamu joined Shou in the run up the stairs and flying clothing performance both adults couldn't help but grin at one another.

Kagome moved upstairs to start a bath, leaving Kakashi to do as he pleased before entering the bath room to three very naked boys looking over running water. "Shou! You know better than to try to get in without one of us up here!"

"I promise, I promise I wasn't getting in. You're just really slow Mama!" Shou replied, waiting for his mother to test the water so he could get in. Kagome frowned, telling the little boy that he was indeed in trouble before his mother checked the bath, before adding a small amount of bubble bath and stopping up that tub. All three boys clamored inside, before beginning to splash each other with water. Kagome retained her position on the western styled toilet, if she got any lower she wouldn't be able to get back up.

At the creaking like steps headed toward, then entering the bath room the question that was on the tip of her tongue seemed to leave her before a joy entered her heart. "Shino!" The impractical shout that left her mouth, had all three boys looking at her in surprise. When she struggled to stand, Shino easily pulled her to her feet and into his arms. He'd missed being home, and it had been a bit surprising to return home and find Kakashi sitting at his kitchen table. When he questioned the older man, he'd been surprised when he'd asked if his boys could stay the night. Shino had only nodded after a more forth coming explanations was given, apparently Suzume had gone into birth right as he and Kagome had returned to the house. And seeing as how Shino hadn't been around at the time Kakashi hadn't wanted to leave the heavily pregnant woman alone with three hyper young boys.

Shino could only smile, before pressing his lips against hers roughly he tongue was already stroking her bottom lip. Their tongues danced before they were pulled away from their happiness from seeing each other by several gagging sounds reaching their ears amusing both adults. "Alright you three, you know the drill get dressed." Shrieking laughter seemed to erupt from beside them, forcing both adults to move out of the way as three towel covered little boys took off like a rocket toward Shou's room.

Looking over Kagome, he could feel a pounding in his heart. He'd been watching her from the door way for what seemed like hours, he'd simply been watching as she looked over the boys with this small look of love that she seemed to always were. And he could only think about the time he spent watching her, when he was home his mind was on his children and on her. He watched her all the time, watched her look after their children, watched her sing, watched her strength when the civilians did their best to hurt and angry her.

"Shino what is it?" Kagome asked, her blue eyes sparkling at him in concern.

"I love you." He nearly hit himself at the blunt way it slipped from his lips but it made it no less true. He was in love with the woman before him, he was relatively sure he'd been in love with her at least a little bit before she'd even conceived. He could only think of seeing her bend down to his son, to show him a kindness and consideration that few would give to a boy so very young.

He never expected to tell her that he loved her in the bathroom of his home, and never expected for a joyous cry to leave her throat and having her small little mouth plastered to his lips. Shino could only keep a hold on her small body, when she returned the words all the while keeping her lips plastered against his. A joy seemed to take over his heart, he wouldn't ever be able to remove her from his heart and he certainly didn't want to.


End file.
